BX  8695    .S6  S6  1912 
Smith,  Lucy,  1775-1856. 

Biographical  sketches  of 

Joseph  Smith  the  prophet 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


JAi\'  15  !97o 


OF 


JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


FOR    MANY  GENERATIONS 


BY 

LUCY  SMITH 

MOTHER  OF  THE  PROPHET 


j.AMONI.  IOWA 

Published  by  the  Reoreanizec'  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Lattejr  Day  Saints 

1912. 


PREFACE. 


The  object  that  the  Board  of  Publication  has  in  the  reissue 
of  this  work,  is  to  place  in  the  hands  of  those  of  the  church, 
and  others  who  may  desire  it,  one  means  of  becoming  ac- 
quained  with  the  history  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints  during 
the  lifetime  of  those  with  whom  the  work  originated. 
"Mother  Smith's  History,"  comes  into  our  hands  in  the  same 
way  that  any  other  book,  written  and  published  by  one  con- 
nected with  the  church  without  authorization  from  the 
church,  might  do,  and  for  this  reason,  we  to  whom  the  work 
of  revision  has  been  intrusted,  give  the  work  to  the  reader 
as  we  find  it;  with  such  additions  as  are  deemed  necessary, 
made  by  marks  of  reference  and  foot-notes.  Nor  do  we  vouch 
for  the  correctness  of  the  statements  made  in  the  body  of 
the  work,  being  contented  to  let  it  pass  with  the  statement 
that  it  is  believed  to  be  in  the  main  correct. 

At  the  time  the  book  was  first  published  it  was  spoken  and 
written  of  quite  highly,  the  preface  having  been  written 
by  Orson  Pratt,  then,  as  now,  one  of  the  ablest  men 
among  the  Utah  Mormons.  Soon  after  its  publication,  and 
after  a  large  number  was  sold.  President  Brigham  Young, 
under  the  plea  that  it  was  a  false  history  and  would  do 
mischief,  ordered  its  suppression;  the  Saints  were  counseled 
to  give  them  up,  either  freely,  or  in  exchange  for  other  works 
of  the  church,  that  they  might  be  destroyed.  Under  this 
order  large  numbers  were  destroyed,  few  being  preserved, 
some  of  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  those  now  with  the 
Reorganization.  For  this  destruction  we  see  no  adequate 
reason;  unless  it  be  found  in  the  fear  that  a  plain  story  told 
by  the  mother  of  the  first  president  of  the  church,  might  pos- 
sibly convey  views  to  the  minds  of  its  readers,  opposed  to  the 
then  ruling  powers. 

The  present  impracticability  of  giving  a  more  extended  and 
Pref.  i 


ii 


PREFACE 


satisfactory  history  of  Joseph  Smith,  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Reorganized  Church;  in  connection  with  the  fact  that 
Elder  E.  W.  Tullidge's  work,  "Life  of  Joseph,  the  Prophet," 
has  been  put  upon  sale,  have  determined  the  Board  to  publish 
this  work  without  change  in  the  text. 
We  quote: 

"This  work  will  also  include  many  remarkable  events  con- 
nected with  the  discovery  and  translation  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  and  the  early  history  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter  Day  Saints,  never  before  published.  The  manu- 
scripts containing  this  information,  with  the  exception  of  the 
portion  relating  to  his  martyrdom,  were  written  by  the  direc- 
tion and  under  the  inspection  of  the  Prophet.  This  work  will 
be  exceedingly  interesting  to  the  Saints,  and  will  be  a  most 
convincing  evidence,  to  all  nations,  of  the  divinity  of  this 
great  and  last  gospel  message." — Millennial  Star,  vol.  15,  p. 
169,  1853. 

"We  do  not  imagine  that  any  unprejudiced  person  can  take 
up  this  work,  and  bestow  upon  it  a  careful  perusal,  without 
becoming  deeply  sensible  of  the  divine  mission  of  Joseph 
Smith.  Being  written  by  Lucy  Smith,  the  mother  of  the 
Prophet,  and  mostly  under  his  inspection,  will  be  ample 
guarantee  for  the  authenticity  of  the  narrative.  Not  only 
is  the  life  of  the  Prophet  given,  but,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
title,  sketches  of  the  lives  of  many  of  his  progenitors  are. 
Altogether  the  work  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  that  has 
appeared  in  this  latter  dispensation.  To  the  Saints  we  would 
say — Read  the  work,  and  your  hearts  will  be  cheered  by  its 
contents,  and  your  gratitude  to  the  Almighty  increased.  To 
the  world  we  would  say — Read  the  work,  and  the  Spirit  of 
God  will  bear  witness  with  your  spirits,  that  he  is  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,  and  is  again  manifesting 
himself  as  in  days  of  old." — Millennial  Star,  vol.  15,  p.  682, 
1853. 

In  a  letter  from  President  B.  Young  to  Millennial  Star, 
dated  January  31,  1855,  is  the  following: 

"There  are  many  mistakes  in  the  work  entitled  'Biograph- 
ical Sketches  of  Joseph  Smith  the  Prophet,  and  of  his  pro- 


PREFACE 


iii 


genitors  for  many  generations,  by  Lucy  Smith,  mother  of  the 
Prophet,'  and  'published  at  Liverpool  for  Orson  Pratt  by 
S.  W.  Richards,  15  Wilton  Street.'  I  have  had  a  written 
copy  of  those  sketches  in  my  possession  for  several  years,  and 
it  contains  much  of  the  history  of  the  Prophet  Joseph.  Should 
it  ever  be  deemed  best  to  publish  these  sketches,  it  will  not  be 
done  until  after  they  are  carefully  corrected.  I  take  this 
seasonable  opportunity  to  inform  the  public  mind,  in  order 
that  readers  may  not  be  surprised  or  disappointed  at  finding 
discrepancies,  and  may  know  which  is  the  most  reliable,  in 
case  a  corrected  edition  is  ever  published." — Millennial  Star, 
vol.  17,  p.  297. 

Orson  Pratt  stated  in  Deseret  News  of  March  21  and  28, 
and  April  4,  1855,  that 

"These  imperfections  have  undoubtedly  arisen  either  from 
the  impaired  memory  of  the  highly  respected  and  aged  auth- 
oress, or  from  the  lack  oi  correct  information;  or,  which  is 
the  most  probable,  from  the  carelessness  of  the  scribe  in 
writing  from  time  to  time  isolated  statements  from  her  mouth 
without  a  sufficient  understanding  of  their  connection. 

"In  future  editions  the  work  will  be  carefully  revised  and 
corrected  so  far  as  we  have  knowledge.  In  the  meantime,  it 
is  believed  that  this  history  will  be  interesting  to  the  Saints, 
and  to  the  public  generally,  as  from  it  they  can  make  them- 
selves acquainted  with  some  of  the  greatest  and  most  remark- 
able events  of  modern  times. 

"If  the  schools  of  our  Territory  would  introduce  this  work 
as  a  "Reader,"  it  would  give  the  young  and  rising  generation 
some  knowledge  of  the  facts  and  incidents  connected  with  the 
opening  of  the  grand  dispensation  of  the  last  days." — Millen- 
nial Star,  vol.  17,  p.  396. 


PREFACE  TO  ENGLISH  EDITION. 


The  following  pages,  embracing  biographical  sketches  and 
the  genealogy  of  Joseph  Smith,  the  Prophet,  and  his  progeni- 
tors, were  mostly  written  previous  to  the  death  of  the 
Prophet,  and  under  his  personal  inspection. 

Most  of  the  historical  items  and  occurrences  related  have 
never  before  been  published.  They  will  therefore  be  exceed- 
ingly interesting  to  all  Saints,  and  sincere  inquirers  after  the 
truth,  affording  them  the  privilege  of  becoming  more  exten- 
sively acquainted  with  the  private  life  and  character  of  one 
of  the  greatest  prophets  that  ever  lived  upon  the  earth. 
Independent  of  this,  the  events  which  have  occurred  in  con- 
nection with  the  history  of  this  remarkable  family,  are,  in 
themselves,  of  the  most  marvelous  kind,  and  of  infinite  impor- 
tance in  their  bearings  upon  the  present  and  future  genera- 
tions. 

No  events  that  have  happened  since  the  first  advent  of  our 
Savior,  are  of  more  thrilling  interest  than  those  connected 
with  the  history  of  the  Prophet,  Joseph  Smith.  Every  inci- 
dent relating  to  his  life,  or  the  lives  of  his  progenitors,  will 
be  eagerly  sought  after  by  all  future  generations.  The  geo- 
graphical, mechanical,  and  other  scientific  discoveries  of 
modern  ages,  sink  into  insignificance,  compared  with  the 
importance  of  those  discoveries  made  by  this  great  man. 
They  are  designed  by  the  Almighty  to  produce  the  greatest 
moral  and  physical  revolutions  which  the  inhabitants  of  this 
globe  ever  witnessed — revolutions  which,  through  the  judg- 
ments of  God,  will  utterly  overthrow  and  destroy  all  govern- 
ments and  kingdoms  that  will  not  become  subject  to  Christ. 

Under  these  infinitely  important  considerations,  the  follow- 
ing pages  are  recommended  to  the  careful  and  candid  perusal 
of  all  nations. 

ORSON  PRATT. 

iv  Pref. 


JOSEPH  SMITH, 

AND  HIS  PROGENITORS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SOLOMON  MACK,  THE  FATHER  OF  LUCY  MACK — 
EXTRACT  FROM  HIS  NARRATIVE. 

My  father,  Solomon  Mack,  was  born  in  the  town 
3f  Lyme,  New  London  County,  Connecticut,  Septem- 
ber 26,  1735.  His  father,  Ebenezer  Mack,  was  a 
man  of  considerable  property,  and  lived  in  good 
style,  commanding  all  the  attention  and  respect 
which  are  ever  shown  to  those  who  live  in  fine  cir- 
cumstances, and  habits  of  strict  morality.  For  a 
length  of  time  he  fully  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  his 
industry.  But  this  state  of  things  did  not  always 
continue,  for  a  series  of  misfortunes  visited  my 
grandparents,  by  which  they  were  reduced  to  that 
extremity,  that  a  once  happy  and  flourishing  family 
were  compelled  to  disperse,  and  throw  themselves 
upon  the  charity  of  a  cold,  unfeeling  world. 

My  father  was  taken  into  the  family  of  a  neigh- 
boring farmer,  where  he  remained  until  he  was 
nearly  twenty-one  years  of  age,  about  which  time 
he  enlisted  in  the  service  of  his  country. 


2  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

I  have  a  sketch  of  my  father's  life,  written  by 
himself,  in  which  is  detailed  an  account  of  his  several 
campaigns,  and  many  of  his  adventures,  while  in  the 
army.    From  this  I  extract  the  following: 

"At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  I  left  my  master. 
Shortly  after  which,  I  enlisted  in  the  services  of  my 
country,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Henry,  and 
was  annexed  to  the  regiment  commanded  by  Colonel 
Whiting. 

"From  Connecticut,  we  marched  to  Fort  Edwards, 
in  the  state  of  New  York.  We  were  in  a  severe 
battle,  fought  at  Half-way  Brook,  in  1755.  During 
this  expedition,  I  caught  a  heavj^  cold,  which  ren- 
dered me  unfit  for  business  until  the  return  of  warm 
weather.  I  was  carried  the  ensuing  spring  to  Albany. 

"In  the  year  1757,  I  had  two  teams  in  the  king's 
service,  which  were  employed  in  carrying  the  gen- 
eral's baggage.  While  thus  engaged  I  went  one 
morning  as  usual  to  yoke  my  team,  but  three  of  my 
oxen  were  missing.  When  this  came  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  officer,  he  was  very  angry,  and  dra^vrng 
his  sword,  threatened  to  run  it  through  me.  He  then 
ordered  me  to  get  three  other  oxen,  which  I  accord- 
ingly did,  and  proceeded  with  the  baggage  to  Fort 
Edwards,  and  the  next  day  I  returned  in  order  to 
find  my  missing  oxen. 

"While  I  was  performing  this  trip,  the  following 
circumstance  occurred.  About  half  way  from  Still- 
water to  Fort  Edwards,  I  espied  four  Indians  nearly 
thirty  rods  distant,  coming  out  of  the  woods;  they 
were  armed  with  scalping  knives,  tomahawks,  and 
guns.    I  was  alone,  but  about  twenty  rods  behind 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS  3 

me  was  a  man  by  the  name  of  Webster.  I  saw  my 
danger,  and  that  there  was  no  way  to  escape,  unless 
I  could  do  it  by  stratagem;  so  I  rushed  upon  them, 
calling  in  the  meantime  at  the  top  of  my  voice.  Rush 
on!  rush  on,  my  boys!  we'll  have  the  devils.  The 
only  weapon  I  had  was  a  walking  staff,  yet  I  ran 
toward  them,  and  as  the  other  man  appeared  just  at 
that  instant,  it  gave  them  a  terrible  fright,  and  I  saw 
no  more  of  them. 

"I  hastened  to  Stillwater  the  next  day,  as  afore- 
mentioned, and  finding  my  oxen  soon  after  I  arrived 
there,  I  returned  the  same  night  to  Fort  Edwards, 
a  distance  of  seven  miles,  the  whole  of  which  was  a 
dense  forest. 

"In  1758,  I  enlisted  under  Major  Spenser,  and 
went  immediately  over  Lake  George,  with  a  company 
who  crossed  in  boats,  to  the  western  side,  where  we 
had  a  bloody  and  hot  engagement  with  the  enemy, 
in  which  Lord  Howe  fell  at  the  onset  of  the  battle. 
His  bowels  were  taken  out  and  buried,  but  his  body 
was  embalmed  and  carried  to  England. 

"The  next  day  we  marched  to  the  breastworks,  but 
were  unsuccessful,  being  compelled  to  retreat  with  a 
loss  of  five  hundred  men  killed,  and  as  many  more 
wounded. 

"In  this  contest  I  narrowly  escaped — a  musket- 
ball  passed  under  my  chin,  within  half  an  inch  of  my 
neck.  The  army  then  returned  to  Lake  George,  and, 
on  its  way  thither,  a  large  scouting  party  of  the 
enemy  came  round  by  Skeenesborough,  and,  at  the 
Half-way  Brook,  destroyed  a  large  number  of  both 
men  and  teams.    Upon  this,  one  thousand  of  our 


4  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

f 

men  were  detached  to  repair  immediately  to  Skeenes- 
borough  in  pursuit  of  them ;  but,  when  we  arrived  at 
South  Bay,  the  enemy  were  entirely  out  of  our  reach. 

"The  enemy  then  marched  to  Ticonderoga,  New 
York,  in  order  to  procure  supplies,  after  which  they 
immediately  pursued  us,  but  we  eluded  them  by  has- 
tening to  Wood  Creek,  and  thence  to  Fort  Ann,  where 
we  arrived  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  the  month. 
We  had  but  just  reached  this  place,  when  the  sentry 
gave  information  that  the  enemy  were  all  around 
us,  in  consequence  of  which  we  were  suddenly  called 
to  arms.  Major  Putnam  led  the  company,  and  Major 
Rogers  brought  up  the  rear.  We  marched  but  three 
quarters  of  a  mile,  when  we  came  suddenly  upon  a 
company  of  Indians  that  were  lying  in  ambush. 
Major  Putnam  marched  his  men  through  their  ranks, 
whereupon  the  Indians  fired,  which  threw  our  men 
into  some  confusion.  Major  Putnam  was  captured 
by  them,  and  would  have  been  killed  by  an  Indian 
had  he  not  been  rescued  by  a  French  lieutenant. 

"The  enemy  rose  like  a  cloud  and  fired  a  whole 
volley  upon  us,  and,  as  I  was  in  the  foremost  rank, 
the  retreat  of  my  company  brought  me  in  the  rear, 
and  the  tomahawks  and  bullets  flew  around  me  like 
hailstones.  As  I  was  running,  I  saw  not  far  before 
me  a  windfall,  which  was  so  high  that  it  appeared 
to  me  insurmountable;  however,  by  making  great 
exertions,  I  succeeded  in  getting  over  it.  Running 
a  little  farther,  I  observed  a  man  who  had  in  this 
last  conflict  been  badly  wounded,  and  the  Indians 
were  close  upon  nim ;  nevertheless  I  turned  aside  for 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


5 


the  purpose  of  assisting  him,  and  succeeded  in  get- 
ting him  into  the  midst  of  our  army,  in  safety. 

"In  this  encounter  a  man  named  Gersham  Bowley 
"had  nine  bullets  shot  through  his  clothes,  but  received 
no  personal  injury.  Ensign  Worcester  received  nine 
wounds,  was  scalped  and  tomahawked,  notwith- 
standing which  he  lived  and  finally  recovered. 

"The  above  engagement  commenced  early  in  the 
morning,  and  continued  until  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  in  which  half  of  our  men  were  either 
killed,  wounded,  or  taken  prisoners.  In  consequence 
of  this  tremendous  slaughter  we  were  compelled  to 
send  to  Fort  Edwards  for  men,  in  order  to  assist  in 
carrying  our  wounded,  which  were  about  eighty  in 
number. 

"The  distance  we  had  to  carry  them  was  nearly 
fourteen  miles.  To  carry  so  many  thus  far  was 
truly  very  fatiguing,  insomuch  that,  when  we  arrived 
at  the  place  of  destination,  my  strength  was  about 
exhausted. 

"I  proceeded  immediately  to  Albany,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  supplies,  and  returned  again  to  the 
army  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  admit. 

"Autumn  having  now  arrived  I  went  home,  where 
I  tarried  the  ensuing  winter. 

"In  the  spring  of  1759,  the  army  marched  to 
Crownpoint,  where  I  received  my  discharge.  In  the 
same  year  I  became  acquainted  with  an  accomplished 
young  woman,  a  school-teacher,  by  the  name  of 
Lydia  Gates.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Nathan 
Gates,  who  was  a  man  of  wealth,  living  in  the  town 
of  East  Haddam,  Connecticut.  To  this  young  woman 


6 


JOSEPH   SMITH   THE  PROPHET 


I  was  married  shortly  after  becoming  acquainted 
with  her. 

"Having  received  a  large  amount  of  money  for  my 
services  in  the  army,  and  deeming  it  prudent  to  make 
an  investment  of  the  same  in  real  estate,  I  contracted 
for  the  whole  town  of  Granville,  in  the  state  of  New 
York.  On  the  execution  of  the  deed,  I  paid  all  the 
money  that  was  required  in  the  stipulation,  which 
stipulation  also  called  for  the  building  of  a  number  of 
log  houses.  I  accordingly  went  to  work  to  fulfill  this 
part  of  the  contract,  but  after  laboring  a  short  time, 
i  had  the  misfortune  to  cut  my  leg,  which  subjected 
me,  during  that  season,  to  the  care  of  the  physician. 
I  hired  a  man  to  do  the  work,  and  paid  him  in  ad- 
vance, in  order  to  fulfill  my  part  of  the  contract ;  but 
he  ran  away  with  the  money,  without  performing 
the  labor,  and  the  consequence  was,  I  lost  the  land 
altogether. 

"In  1761,  we  moved  to  the  town  of  Marlow,  where 
we  remained  until  we  had  four  children.  When  we 
moved  there,  it  was  no  other  than  a  desolate  and 
dreary  wilderness.  Only  four  families  resided  within 
forty  miles.  Here  I  was  thrown  into  a  situation  to 
appreciate  more  fully  the  talents  and  virtues  of  my 
excellent  wife ;  for,  as  our  children  were  deprived  of 
schools,  she  assumed  the  charge  of  their  education, 
and  performed  the  duties  of  an  instructress  as  none, 
save  a  mother,  is  capable  of.  Precepts  accompanied 
with  examples  such  as  hers,  were  calculated  to  make 
impressions  on  the  minds  of  the  young,  never  to  be 
forgotten. 

"She,  besides  instructing  them  in  the  various 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


7 


branches  of  an  ordinary  education,  was  in  the  habit 
of  calling  them  together  both  morning  and  evening, 
and  teaching  them  to  pray;  meanwhile  urging  upon 
them  the  necessity  of  love  towards  each  other,  as  well 
as  devotional  feelings  towards  Him  who  made  them. 

"In  this  manner  my  first  children  became  con- 
firmed in  habits  of  piety,  gentleness,  and  reflection, 
which  aff  orded  great  assistance  in  guiding  those  who 
came  after  them,  in  the  same  happy  channel.  The 
education  of  my  children  would  have  been  a  more 
difficult  task,  if  they  had  not  inherited  much  of  their 
mother's  excellent  disposition. 

"In  1776,  I  enlisted  in  the  service  of  my  country, 
and  was  for  a  considerable  length  of  time  in  the  land 
forces,  after  which  I  went  with  my  two  sons,  Jason 
and  Stephen,  on  a  privateering  expedition,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Havens.  Soon  after  we  set  sail, 
we  were  driven  upon  Horseneck.  We  succeeded, 
however,  in  getting  some  of  our  guns  on  shore,  and 
bringing  them  to  bear  upon  the  enemy,  so  as  to 
exchange  many  shots  with  them;  yet  they  cut  away 
our  rigging,  and  left  our  vessel  much  shattered. 

"We  then  hauled  off,  and  cast  anchor;  but  in  a 
short  time  we  espied  two  row-gallies,  two  sloops,  and 
two  schooners.  We  quickly  weighed  anchor,  and 
hauled  to  shore  again,  and  had  barely  time  to  post 
four  cannon  in  a  position  in  which  they  could  be  used, 
before  a  sanguinary  contest  commenced.  The  balls 
from  the  enemy's  guns  tore  up  the  ground,  cutting 
asunder  the  saplings  in  every  direction.  One  of  the 
row-gallies  went  round  a  point  of  land  with  the  view 
of  hemming  us  in,  but  we  killed  forty  of  their  men. 


8  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

with  our  small  arms,  which  caused  the  enemy  to 
abandon  their  purpose. 

"My  son  Stephen,  in  company  with  the  cabin  boys, 
was  sent  to  a  house  not  far  from  the  shore,  with  a 
wounded  man.  Just  as  they  entered  the  house,  an 
eighteen-pounder  followed  them.  A  woman  was 
engaged  in  frying  cakes  at  the  time,  and  being  some- 
what alarmed,  she  concluded  to  retire  into  the  cellar, 
saying,  as  she  left,  that  the  boys  might  have  the 
cakes,  as  she  was  going  below. 

"The  boys  were  highly  delighted  at  this,  and  they 
went  to  work  cooking,  and  feasting  upon  the  lady's 
sweet-cakes,  while  the  artillery  of  the  contendi.ig 
armies  was  thundering  in  their  ears,  dealing  out 
death  and  destruction  on  every  hand.  At  the  head 
of  this  party  of  boys  was  Stephen  Mack,  my  second 
son,  a  bold  and  fearless  stripling  of  fourteen. 

"In  this  contest,  the  enemy  was  far  superior  to  us 
in  point  of  numbers,  yet  we  maintained  our  ground 
with  such  valor  that  they  thought  it  better  to  leave 
us,  and  accordingly  did  so.  Soon  after  which  we 
hoisted  sail  and  made  for  New  London. 

"When  hostilities  had  ceased,  and  peace  and  tran- 
quility were  again  restored,  we  freighted  a  vessel  for 
Liverpool.  Selling  both  ship  and  cargo  in  this  place, 
we  embarked  on  board  Captain  Foster's  vessel,  which 
I  afterwards  purchased;  but,  in  consequence  of 
storms  and  wrecks,  I  was  compelled  to  sell  her,  and 
was  left  completely  destitute. 

"I  struggled  a  little  longer  to  obtain  property,  in 
making  adventures,  then  returned  to  my  family, 
after  an  absence  of  four  years,  about  penniless. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


9 


After  this,  I  determined  to  follow  phantoms  no 
longer,  but  devote  the  rest  of  my  life  to  the  service  of 
God,  and  my  family." 

I  shall  now  lay  aside  my  father's  journal,  as  1 
have  made  such  extracts  as  are  adapted  to  my  pur- 
pose, and  take  up  the  history  of  his  children. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HISTORY  OF  JASON  MACK. 

Jason,  my  oldest  brother,  was  a  studious  and 
manly  boy.  Before  he  had  attained  his  sixteenth 
year  he  became  what  was  then  called  a  Seeker,  and 
believing  that  by  prayer  and  faith  the  gifts  of  the 
gospel,  which  were  enjoyed  by  the  ancient  disciples 
of  Christ,  might  be  attained,  he  labored  almost  inces- 
santly to  convert  others  to  the  same  faith.  He  was 
also  of  the  opinion  that  God  would,  at  some  subse- 
quent period,  manifest  his  power  as  he  had  anciently 
done — in  signs  and  wonders. 

At  the  age  of  twenty  he  became  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel.  And  in  a  short  time  after  this  he  formed 
an  acquaintance  with  Esther  Bruce,  from  the  state 
of  New  Hampshire,  of  wealthy  parentage.  She  was 
the  pride  of  the  place  in  which  she  resided,  not  so 
much  on  account  of  her  splendid  appearance,  as  the 
soundness  of  her  mind,  and  her  stately  deport- 
ment, joined  with  an  unaffected  mildness  of  disposi- 
tion, and  a  condescension  of  manners,  which  were 


10  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

admirably  suited  to  the  taste  and  principles  of  my 
brotner.  Jason  became  deeply  in  love  with  her,  inso- 
much that  his  heart  was  completely  hers,  and  it 
would  have  been  as  easy  to  have  convinced  him  that 
he  could  exist  without  his  head,  as  that  he  could  live 
and  enjoy  life,  without  being  united  with  her  in  mar- 
riage. These  feelings,  I  believe,  were  mutual,  and 
Jason  and  she  entered  into  an  engagement  to  be 
married,  but,  as  they  were  making  arrangements  for 
the  solemnization  of  their  nuptials,  my  father  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  Liverpool,  containing  informa- 
tion that  a  large  amount  of  money  was  collected  for 
him,  and  that  it  was  ready  for  his  reception. 

On  accoi'^nt  of  this  intelligence  it  was  agreed  that 
the  marriage  of  my  brother,  as  my  father  desired 
that  he  should  accompany  him  to  Liverpool,  should 
be  deferred  until  their  return.  Accordingly,  my 
brother  left  his  affianced  bride,  with  a  heavy  heart, 
and  with  this  promise,  that  he  would  write  to  her 
and  his  sister  conjointly,  at  least  once  in  three 
months  during  his  absence.  In  three  months  after 
his  departure,  according  to  agreement,  a  letter 
arrived,  which  indeed  met  with  a  very  warm  recep- 
tion, but  it  was  never  followed  by  another  from  him. 
A  young  man  who  kept  the  post-office  where  she 
received  her  letters,  formed  in  his  heart  a  determina- 
tion to  thwart  my  brother,  if  possible,  in  his  matri- 
monial prospects,  in  order  to  obtain  the  prize 
himself.  He  commenced  by  using  the  most  persua- 
sive arguments  against  her  marrying  my  brother; 
but,  not  succeeding  in  this,  he  next  detained  his 
letters,  and  then  reproached  him  for  neglecting  her. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


11 


Being  still  unsuccessful,  he  forged  letters  purporting 
to  be  from  a  friend  of  Jason,  whioh  stated  that  he 
(Jason  Mack)  was  dead  and  his  friends  might  cease 
to  expect  him.  He  then  urged  his  suit  again,  but  she 
still  rejected  him  and  continued  to  do  so  until  within 
four  months  of  Jason's  return,  when  she  concluded 
that  she  had  wronged  the  young  man,  and  that  he 
was  really  more  worthy  than  she  had  expected.  The 
time  also  whioh  Jason  was  to  be  absent  having  ex- 
pired without  his  return,  sihe  believed  that  the 
reports  concerning  his  death  must  be  true.  So  she 
accepted  the  hand  of  this  young  man,  and  they  were 
united  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony. 

As  soon  as  Jason  arrived  he  repairerV'-immediately 
to  her  father's  house.  When  he  gbt  there  she  was 
gone  to  her  brother's  funeral ;  he  went  in,  and  seated 
himself  in  the  same  room  where  he  had  once  paid  his 
addresses  to  her.  In  a  short  time  she  came  home; 
when  she  first  saw  him  she  did  not  know  him,  but 
when  she  got  a  full  view  of  his  countenance  she 
recognized  him,  and  instantly  fainted.  From  this 
time  forward  she  never  recovered  her  health,  but, 
lingering  for  two  years,  died  the  victim  of  disap- 
pointment. 

Jason  remained  in  the  neighborhood  a  short  time, 
and  then  went  to  sea,  but  he  did  not  follow  the  sea 
a  great  while.  He  soon  left  the  main,  and  com- 
menced preaching,  which  he  continued  until  his 
death. 


12  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  III. 

LOVISA  AND  LOVINA  MACK. 

The  history  of  Lovisa  and  Lovina,  my  two  oldest 
sisters,  is  so  connected  and  interwoven  that  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  separate  it. 

They  were  one  in  faith,  in  love,  in  action,  and  in 
hope  of  eternal  life.  They  were  always  together, 
and  when  they  were  old  enough  to  understand  the 
duties  of  a  Christian,  they  united  their  voices  in 
prayer  and  songs  of  praise  to  God.  This  sisterly 
affection  increased  with  their  years,  and  strength- 
ened with  the  strength  of  their  minds.  The  pathway 
of  their  lives  was  never  clouded  with  a  gloomy 
shadow  until  Lovisa's  marriage,  and  removal  from 
home,  which  left  Lovina  very  lonely.  In  about  two 
years  after  Lovisa's  marriage  she  was  taken  very 
sick  and  sent  for  Lovina.  Lovina,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, went  immediately,  and  remained  with  her 
sister  during  her  illness,  which  lasted  two  years, 
baffling  the  skill  of  the  most  experienced  physicians ; 
but  at  the  expiration  of  this  time  she  revived  a  little, 
and  showed  some  symptoms  of  recovery. 

I  shall  here  relate  a  circumstance  connected  with 
her  sickness,  which  may  try  the  credulity  of  some  of 
my  readers,  yet  hundreds  were  eye-witnesses,  and 
doubtless  many  of  them  are  now  living,  who,  if  they 
would,  could  testify  to  the  fact  which  I  am  about  to 
mention. 

As  before  stated,  after  the  space  of  two  years  she 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


13 


began  to  manifest  signs  of  convalescence,  but  soon  a 
violent  re-attack  broug'ht  her  down  again,  and  she 
grew  worse  and  worse,  until  she  became  entirely 
speechless,  and  so  reduced  that  her  attendants  were 
not  allowed  to  even  turn  her  in  bed.  She  took  no 
nourishment  except  a  very  little  rice  water.  She 
lay  in  this  situation  three  days  and  two  nights.  On 
the  third  night,  about  two  o'clock,  she  feebly  pro- 
nounced the  name  of  Lovina,  who  had  all  the  while 
watched  over  her  pillow,  like  an  attendant  angel, 
observing  every  change  and  symptom  with  the 
deepest  emotion.  Startled  at  hearing  the  sound  of 
Lovisa's  voice,  Lovina  now  bent  over  the  emaciated 
form  of  her  sister,  with  thrilling  interest,  and  said, 
"My  sister!  my  sister!  what  will  you?" 

Lovisa  then  said  emphatically,  "The  Lord  has 
healed  me,  both  soul  and  body — raise  me  up  and 
give  me  my  clothes,  I  wish  to  get  up." 

Her  husband  told  those  who  were  watching  with 
her,  to  gratify  her,  as  in  all  probability  it  was  a 
revival  before  death,  and  he  would  not  have  her 
crossed  in  her  last  moments. 

They  did  so,  though  with  reluctance,  as  they  sup- 
posed she  might  live  a  few  moments  longer,  if  she 
did  not  exhaust  her  strength  too  much  by  exerting 
herself  in  this  manner. 

Having  raised  her  in  bed,  they  assisted  her  to 
dress ;  and  although,  when  they  raised  her  to  her  feet, 
her  weight  dislocated  both  of  her  ankles,  she  would 
not  consent  to  return  to  her  bed,  but  insisted  upon 
being  set  in  a  chair,  and  having  her  feet  drawn 
gently  in  order  to  have  her  ankle-joints  replaced. 


14  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET 

She  then  requested  her  husband  to  bring  iher  some 
wine,  saying,  if  he  would  do  so  she  would  do  quite 
well  for  the  present. 

Soon  after  this,  by  her  own  request,  she  was  as- 
sisted to  cross  the  street  to  her  father-in-law's,  who 
was  at  that  time  prostrated  upon  a  bed  of  sickness. 
When  she  entered  the  house  he  cried  out  in  amaze- 
ment, "Lovisa  is  dead,  and  her  spirit  is  now  come  to 
warn  me  of  my  sudden  departure  from  this  world." 
'  No,  father,"  she  exclaimed,  "God  has  raised  me  up, 
and  I  have  come  to  tell  you  to  prepare  for  death." 
She  conversed  an  hour  or  so  with  him,  then,  with  the 
assistance  of  her  husband  and  those  who  attended 
upon  her  that  night,  she  crossed  the  street  back 
again  to  her  own  apartment. 

When  this  was  noised  abroad,  a  great  multitude  of 
people  came  together,  both  to  hear  and  see  concern- 
ing the  strange  and  marvelous  circumstance  which 
had  taken  place.  She  talked  to  them  a  short  time, 
and  then  sang  a  hymn,  after  whicih  she  dismissed 
them,  promising  to  meet  them  the  next  day  at  the 
village  church,  where  she  would  tell  them  all  about 
the  strange  manner  in  which  she  had  been  healed. 

The  following  day,  according  to  promise,  she  pro- 
ceeded to  the  church,  and  when  she  arrived  there  a 
large  congregation  had  collected.  Soon  after  she 
entered,  the  minister  rose  and  remarked,  that  aa 
many  of  the  congregation  had  doubtless  come  to  hear 
a  recital  of  the  strange  circumstance  which  had 
taken  place  in  the  neighborhood,  and  as  he  himself 
felt  more  interested  in  it  than  in  hearing  a  gospel 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


15 


discourse,  he  would  open  the  meeting  and  then  give 
place  to  Mrs.  Tuttle, 

The  minister  then  requested  her  to  sing  a  hymn; 
she  accordingly  did  so,  and  her  voice  was  as  high  and 
clear  as  it  had  ever  been.  Having  sung,  she  rose 
and  addressed  the  audience  as  follows :  "I  seemed  to 
be  borne  away  to  the  world  of  spirits,  where  I  saw 
the  Savior,  as  through  a  veil,  which  appeared  to  me 
about  as  thicjc  as  a  spider's  web,  and  he  told  me  that 
i  must  return  again  to  warn  the  people  to  prepare 
for  death ;  that  I  must  exhort  them  to  be  watchful  as 
well  as  prayerful;  that  I  must  declare  faithfully 
unto  them  their  accountability  before  God,  and  the 
certainty  of  their  being  called  to  stand  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ;  and  that  if  I  would  do  this, 
my  life  should  be  prolonged."  After  which  she  spoke 
much  to  the  people  upon  the  uncertainty  of  life. 

When  she  sat  down,  her  husband  and  sister,  also 
those  who  were  with  her  during  the  last  night  of  her 
sickness,  rose  and  testified  to  her  appearance  just 
before  her  sudden  recovery. 

Of  these  things  she  continued  to  speak  boldly  for 
the  space  of  three  years.  At  the  end  of  which  time 
she  was  seized  with  the  consumption  which  termi- 
nated her  earthly  existence. 

A  short  time  before  Lovisa  was  healed  in  the 
miraculous  manner  above  stated,  Lovina  was  taken 
with  a  severe  cough  which  ended  in  consumption. 
She  lingered  three  years,  during  which  time  she 
spoke  with  much  calmness  of  her  approaching  disso- 
lution, contemplating  death  with  all  that  serenity 
which  is  characteristic  of  the  last  moments  of  those 


16  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

wiho  fear  God,  and  walk  uprightly  before  him.  She 
conjured  her  young  friends  to  remember  that  life 
upon  this  earth  can  not  be  eternal.  Hence  the  neces- 
sity of  looking  beyond  this  vale  of  tears,  to  a  glorious 
inheritance,  "where  moths  do  not  corrupt,  nor 
thieves  break  through  and  steal." 

The  care  of  Lovina,  during  her  illness,  devolved 
chiefly  upon  myself.  The  task,  though  a  melancholy 
one,  I  cheerfully  performed,  and,  although  she  had 
much  other  attention,  I  never  allowed  myself  to  go 
an  hour,  at  a  time,  beyond  the  sound  of  her  voice 
while  she  was  sick.  A  short  time  before  she  breathed 
her  last,  which  was  in  the  night,  she  awakened  me, 
and  requested  that  I  would  call  father  and  mother, 
for  she  wished  to  see  them,  as  she  would  soon  be 
gone.  When  they  came,  she  said,  "Father  and 
mother,  now  I  am  dying,  and  I  wish  you  to  call  my 
young  associates,  that  I  may  speak  to  them  before  I 
die."  She  then  requested  me  to  place  her  in  a  chair, 
and  as  soon  as  the  young  people  who  were  called  in, 
were  seated,  she  commenced  speaking.  After  ta''k- 
ing  a  short  time  to  them,  she  stopped,  and,  turning  to 
her  mother,  said,  "Mother,  will  you  get  rm  some- 
thing to  eat?  It  is  the  last  time  you  will  ever  bring 
me  nourishment  in  this  world."  When  my  mother 
had  complied  with  her  request,  she  ate  a  small 
quantity  of  food,  with  apparent  appetite,  then  gave 
back  the  dish,  saying,  "There,  mother,  you  will  never 
get  me  anything  to  eat  again."  After  which  she 
turned  to  the  company,  and  proceeded  vath  her 
remarks,  thus :  "I  do  not  know  when  I  received  any 
material  change  of  heart,  unless  it  was  when  I  was 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


17 


ten  years  old.  God,  at  that  time,  heard  my  prayers, 
and  forgave  my  sins;  and  ever  since  then  I  have 
endeavored  to  serve  him  according  to  the  best  of  my 
abilities.  And  I  have  called  you  here  to  give  you  my 
last  warning — to  bid  you  all  farewell,  and  beseech 
you  to  endeavor  to  meet  me  where  parting  sihall  be 
no  more." 

Shortly  after  this,  holding  up  her  hand's,  and  look- 
ing upon  them  as  one  would  upon  a  trifling  thing 
unobserved  before,  she  said,  with  a  smile  upon  her 
countenance,  "See,  the  blood  is  settling  under  my 
nails."  Then,  placing  the  fingers  of  her  left  hand 
across  her  right,  she  continued  thus,  "  'Tis  cold  to 
there — .soon  this  mortal  flesh  will  be  food  for 
worms."  Then,  turning  to  me,  she  said,  "Now, 
sister  Lucy,  will  you  help  me  into  bed." 

I  did  as  I  was  directed,  carrying  her  in  my  arms 
just  as  I  would  a  child.  Although  I  was  but  thirteen 
years  old,  she  was  so  emaciated  that  I  could  carry 
her  with  considerable  ease. 

As  I  was  carrying  her  to  bed,  my  hand  slipped. 
At  this  she  cried  out,  "Oh!  Sister,  that  hurt  me." 
This,  indeed,  gave  me  bitter  feelings.  I  was  well 
assured  that  this  was  the  last  sad  office  I  should  ever 
perform  for  my  sister,  and  the  thougtht  that  I  had 
caused  her  pain  in  laying  her  on  her  death-bed, 
wounded  me  much. 

Soon  after  this,  she  passed  her  hand  over  her  face, 
and  again  remarked,  m.y  nose  is  "now  quite  cold." 
Then  slightly  turning  and  straightening  herself  in 
bed,  she  continued,  "Father,  mother,  brother,  sister, 


IC  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


and  dear  companions,  all  farewell,  I  am  going  to  rest 
— ^prepare  to  follow  me ;  for 

"Death!  'tis  a  melanaholy  day 
To  those  that  have  no  God, 
When  the  poor  souJ  is  forced  away 
To  seek  her  last  abode. 

"In  vain  to  heave.n  she  lifts  her  eyes. 
But  guilt,  a  heavy  chain. 
Still  drags  her  downwards  from  the  skies, 
To  darkness,  fire,  and  pain. 

"Awake  and  mourn,  yc  heirs  of  hell, 
Let  stubborn  sinners  fear; 
You  must  be  driven  from  earth,  and  dwell 
A  long  FOR  EVER  there! 

"See  how  the  pit  gapes  wide  for  you, 
And  flashes  in  your  face; 
And  thou,  my  soul,  look  downward  too. 
And  sing  recovering  grace. 

"He  is  a  God  of  sov'reign  love. 
Who  promised  heaven  to  me. 
And  taught  my  thoughts  to  soar  above. 
Where  happy  spirits  be. 

"Prepare  me.  Lord,  for  thy  right  hand, 
Then  come  the  joyful  day; 
Come,  death,  and  come  celestial  band, 
To  bear  my  soul  away." 

After  repeating  this  hymn,  she  folded  her  hands 
across  her  breast,  and  then  closed  her  eyes  for  ever. 

Having  led  my  readers  to  the  close  of  Lovina's 
life,  I  shall  return  to  Lovisa,  of  whom  there  only 
remains  the  closing  scene  of  her  earthly  career. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  months  subsequent  to  the 
death  of  Sister  Lovina,  my  father  received  a  letter 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


19 


from  South  Hadley,  stating  that  Lovisa  was  very 
low  of  the  consumption,  and  that  she  earnestly 
desired  him  to  come  and  see  her  as  soon  as  possible, 
as  she  expected  to  live  but  a  short  time. 

My  father  set  out  immediately,  and  when  he 
arrived  there,  he  found  her  in  rather  better  health 
than  he  expected.  In  a  few  days  after  he  got  there, 
she  resolved  in  her  heart  to  return  with  him  at  all 
hazards.  To  this  her  father  unwillingly  consented, 
and,  after  making  the  requisite  preparations,  they 
started  for  Gilsum. 

They  traveled  about  four  miles,  and  came  to  an 
inn  kept  by  a  man  by  the  name  of  Taff.  Here  her 
father  halted,  and  asked  her  if  she  did  not  wish  to 
tarry  a  short  time  to  rest  herself.  She  replied  in  the 
affirmative.  By  the  assistance  of  the  landlord,  she 
was  presently  seated  in  an  easy  chair.  My  father 
then  stepped  into  the  next  room  to  procure  a  little 
water  and  wine  for  her.  He  was  absent  but  a 
moment ;  however,  when  he  returned  it  was  too  late, 
her  spirit  had  fled  from  its  earthly  tabernacle  to 
return  no  more,  until  recalled  by  the  trump  of  the 
Archangel. 

My  father  immediately  addressed  a  letter  to 
mother,  informing  her  of  Lovisa's  death,  lest  the 
shock  of  seeing  the  corpse  unexpectedly  should  over- 
come her.  And  as  soon  as  he  could  get  a  coffin,  he 
proceeded  on  his  journey  for  Gilsum,  a  distance  of 
fifty  miles. 

She  was  buried  by  the  side  of  her  sister  Lovina, 
according  to  her  own  request. 


20  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

The  following  is  part  of  a  'hymn  composed  by  her- 
self, a  few  days  previous  to  her  decease : 

"Lord,  may  my  thoughts  be  turned  to  thee; 

Lift  thou  my  heavy  soul  on  high; 
Wilt  thou,  0,  Lord,  return  to  me 

In  mercy,  Father,  ere  I  die! 
My  soaring  thoughts  now  rise  above — 
0,  fill  my  soul  with  heavenly  love. 

"Father  and  mother,  now  farewell; 
And  husband,  partner  of  my  lif  e. 
Go  to  my  father'j  children,  tell 

That  lives  no  more  on  earth  thy  wife; 
That  while  she  dwelt  in  cumbrous  clay, 
For  them  she  prayed  both  nig'ht  and  day. 

"My  friends,  I  bid  you  all  adieu; 

The  Lord  hath  called,  and  I  must  go — 
And  all  the  joys  of  this  vain  earth. 

Are  now  to  me  of  little  worth; 
'Twill  be  the  same  with  you  as  me, 
When  brought  as  near  eternity." 

Thus  closes  this  mournful  recital,  and  when  I  pass 
with  my  readers  into  the  next  chapter,  with  them 
probably  may  end  the  sympathy  aroused  by  this  re- 
hearsal, but  with  me  it  must  last  while  life  endures. 


I 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


21 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LIFE  OF  STEPHEN  MACK. 

My  brother  Stephen,  wiho  was  next  in  age  to  Jason, 
was  bom  in  the  town  of  Marlow,  June  15,  1766. 

I  shall  pass  his  childhood  in  silence,  and  say  noth- 
ing about  him  until  he  attained  the  age  of  fourteen, 
at  which  time  he  enlisted  in  the  army,  the  circum- 
stances of  which  were  as  follows : 

A  recruiting  officer  came  in  the  neighborhood  to 
draft  soldiers  for  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  he 
called  out  a  company  of  militia  to  which  my  brother 
belonged,  in  order  to  take  therefrom  such  as  were 
best  qualified  to  do  military  duty.  My  brother,  being 
very  anxious  to  go  into  the  army  at  this  time,  was 
so  fearful  that  he  would  be  passed  by  on  account  of 
his  age,  that  the  sweat  stood  in  large  drops  on  his 
face,  and  he  shook  like  an  aspen  leaf.  Fortunately, 
the  officer  made  choice  of  him  among  others,  and  he 
entered  the  army,  and  continued  in  the  service  of 
his  country  until  he  was  seventeen.  During  this 
time  he  was  in  many  battles,  both  on  land  and  sea, 
and  several  times  narrowly  escaped  death  by  famine ; 
but,  according  to  his  own  account,  whenever  he  was 
brought  into  a  situation  to  fully  realize  his  entire 
dependence  upon  God,  the  hand  of  Providence  was 
always  manifested  in  his  deliverance. 

Not  long  since,  I  met  with  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance of  my  brother  Stephen,  and  requested  him  to 
furnish  me  such  facts  as  were  in  his  possession  in 


22  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

relation  to  him ;  and  he  wrote  the  following  brief,  yet 
comprehensive  account,  for  tihe  gratification  of  my 
readers : 

"I,  Horace  Stanley,  was  born  in  Tunbridge,  Orange 
County,  Vermont,  August  21,  1798.  I  have  been 
personally  acquainted  with  Major  Mack  and  his 
family  ever  since  I  can  remember,  as  I  lived  in  the 
same  township,  within  one  mile  and  a  half  of  the 
Major's  farm,  and  two  miles  from  his  store,  and 
eight  miles  from  Chelsea,  the  county-seat  of  Orange 
County;  where  he  conducted  the  mercantile  and 
tinning  business. 

"My  eldest  brother  went  to  learn  the  tinning  busi- 
ness of  the  Major's  workmen.  The  Major  being  a 
man  of  great  enterprise,  energetic  in  business,  and 
possessed  of  a  high  degree  of  patriotism,  launched 
forth  on  the  frontiers  at  Detroit,  in  the  year  1800  (if 
I  recollect  rightly),  where  he  immediately  com- 
menced trading  with  the  Indians. 

"He  left  his  family  in  Tunbridge,  on  his  farm,  and 
while  he  wa^  engaged  in  business  at  Detroit  he 
visited  them — sometimes  once  in  a  year,  in  eighteen 
months,  or  in  two  years,  just  as  it  happened. 

"I  visited  Detroit,  November  1,  1820,  where  I 
found  the  Major  merchandising  upon  quite  an  exten- 
sive scale,  having  six  clerks  in  one  store ;  besides 
this,  he  had  many  other  stores  in  the  territory  of 
Michigan,  as  well  as  in  various  parts  of  Ohio. 

"His  business  at  Pontiac  was  principally  farming 
and  building,  but  in  order  to  facilitate  these  two 
branches  of  business,  he  set  in  operation  a  saw-  and 
flour-mill,  and  afterwards  added  different  branches 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


23 


of  mechanism.  He  made  the  turnpike  road  from 
Detroit  to  Pontiac  at  his  own  expense.  He  also  did 
considerable  other  public  work,  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  emplojonent  to  the  poor. 

"He  never  encouraged  idleness,  or  the  man  above 
his  business.  In  1828,  having  been  absent  from 
Detroit  a  short  time,  I  returned.  The  Major  was 
then  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Territory,  and 
had  acted  a  very  conspicuous  part  in  enhancing  its 
prosperity  and  enlarging  its  settlement;  and  it  was 
a  common  saying  that  he  had  done  much  more  for 
the  Territory  than  any  other  individual. 

"In  short,  the  Major  was  a  man  of  talents  of  the 
first  order.  He  was  energetic  and  untiring.  He 
always  encouraged  industry  and  was  very  cautious 
how  he  applied  his  acts  of  charity. 

Respectfully,  by 

Horace  Stanley." 

My  brother  was  in  the  city  of  Detroit  in  1812,  the 
year  in  which  Hull  surrendered  the  Territory  to  the 
British  Crown.  My  brother,  being  somewhat  cele- 
brated for  his  prowess,  was  selected  by  General  Hull 
to  take  the  command  of  a  company,  as  captain. 
After  a  short  service  in  this  office,  he  was  ordered 
to  surrender.  At  this  his  indignation  was  roused  to 
the  highest  pitch.  He  broke  his  sword  across  his 
knee;  and,  throwing  it  into  the  lake,  exclaimed  that 
he  would  never  submit  to  such  a  disgraceful  com- 
promise while  the  blood  of  an  American'  continued 
to  run  through  his  veins. 

This  drew  the  especial  vengeance  of  the  army 


24  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

upon  his  head;  and  his  property,  doubtless,  would 
have  been  sacrificed  to  their  resentment,  had  they 
known  the  situation  of  his  affairs.  But  this  they 
did  not  know,  as  his  housekeeper  deceived  them  by 
a  stratagem,  related  by  Mr.  Stanley,  as  follows : 

"At  the  surrender  of  Detroit,  not  having  as  yet 
moved  his  family  hither,  Major  Mack  had  an  elderly 
lady,  by  the  name  of  Trotwine,  keeping  house  for 
him.  The  old  lady  took  in  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished British  officers  as  boarders.  She  justified 
them  in  their  course  of  conduct  towards  the  Yankees, 
and,  by  her  shrewdness  and  taot,  she  gained  the 
esteem  of  the  officers,  and  thus  secured  through  them 
the  good  will  of  the  soldiery,  so  far  as  to  prevent 
their  burning  (what  they  supposed  to  be)  her  store 
and  dwelling,  both  of  which  were  splendid  buildings, 

"The  Major  never  forgot  this  service  done  him  by 
the  old  lady,  for  he  ever  afterwards  supported  her 
handsomely." 

Thus  was  a  great  amount  of  goods  and  money 
saved  from  the  hands  of  his  enemies.  But  this  is 
not  all:  the  news  came  to  her  ears  that  they  were 
about  to  bum  another  trading  establishment  belong- 
ing to  the  Major,  and,  without  waiting  to  consult 
him,  she  went  immediately  to  the  store,  and  took 
from  the  counting-room  several  thousand  dollars, 
which  she  secreted  until  the  British  left  the  city. 
The  building  and  goods  were  burned. 

As  soon  as  the  English  left  the  territory,  he  recom- 
menced business,  and  removed  his  family  from  Tun- 
bridge  to  Detroit.  Here  they  remained  but  a  short 
time,  when  he  took  them  to  Pontiac;  and,  as  soon  as 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


25 


they  were  well  established  or  settled  in  this  place,  he 
himself  went  to  the  city  of  Rochester,  where  he  built 
a  sawmill. 

But,  in  the  midst  of  his  prosperity,  he  was  called 
away  to  experience  another  state  of  existence,  with 
barely  a  moment's  warning,  for  he  was  sick  only 
four  days  from  the  time  he  was  first  taken  ill  until 
he  died ;  and  even  on  the  fourth  day,  and  in  the  last 
hour  of  his  illness,  it  was  not  supposed  to  be  at  all 
dangerous,  until  his  son,  who  sat  by  his  bedside,  dis- 
covered that  he  was  dying. 

He  left  his  family  with  an  estate  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  clear  of  encumbrance. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LYDIA  MACK,  THIRD  DAUGHTER  OF  SOLOMON  MACK. 

Of  my  sister  Lydia  I  shall  say  but  little;  not  that 
I  loved  her  less,  or  that  she  was  less  deserving  of 
honorable  mention;  but  she  seemed  to  float  more 
with  the  stream  of  common  events  than  those  who 
have  occupied  the  foregoing  pages :  hence  fewer  inci- 
dents of  a  striking  character  are  furnished  for  the 
mind  to  dwell  upon. 

She  sought  riches  and  obtained  them;  yet  in  the 
day  of  prosperity  she  remembered  the  poor,  for  she 
doalt  out  her  substance  to  the  needy  with  a  liberal 
hand,  to  the  end  of  her  days,  and  died  the  object  of 
their  affection.  As  she  was  beloved  in  life,  so  she 
was  bewailed  in  death. 


26  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DANIEL  MACK — HE  RESCUES  THREE  MEN  FROM  A 
WATERY  GRAVE. 

Daniel  oomes  next  in  order.  He  was  rather 
worldly-minded,  yet  he  was  not  vicious;  and  if  he 
had  any  peculiar  trait  of  character,  it  was  this — he 
possessed  a  very  daring  and  philanthropic  spirit, 
which  led  him  to  reach  fonth  his  hand  to  the  assist- 
ance of  those  whose  lives  were  exposed  to  danger, 
even  to  the  hazard  of  his  own  life.  For  instance; 
he,  in  company  with  several  others,  was  once  stand- 
ing on  the  bank  of  Miller's  River,  in  the  town  of 
Montague,  when  one  of  the  number  proposed  taking 
a  swim,  Daniel  objected,  saying  it  was  a  dangerous 
place  to  swim  m,  yet  they  were  determined,  and 
three  went  in ;  but,  going  out  into  the  stream  rather 
too  far,  they  were  overpowered  by  the  current,  and 
a  kind  of  eddy  which  they  fell  into,  and  they  sunk 
immediately. 

At  this  Daniel  said,  "Now,  gentlemen,  these  men 
are  drowning :  who  will  assist  them  at  the  risk  of  his 
life?"  No  one  answered.  At  this  he  sprang  into 
the  water,  and  diving  to  the  bottom,  found  one  of 
tnem  fastened  to  some  small  roots.  Daniel  took  hold 
of  him,  and  tore  up  the  roots  to  wihich  he  was  cling- 
ing, and  brought  him  out,  and  then  told  the  by- 
standers to  get  a  barrel,  for  the  purpose  of  rolling 
him  on  it,  in  order  to  make  him  disgorge  the  water 
which  he  had  taken.    He  then  went  in  again,  and 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


27 


found  the  other  two  in  the  same  situation  as  the 
first,  and  saved  them  in  like  manner. 

After  rolling  them  a  short  time  on  barrels,  he  took 
them  to  a  house,  and  gave  them  every  possible  atten- 
tion, until  they  had  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able 
to  speak.  As  soon  as  they  could  talk,  one  of  them, 
fixing  his  eyes  upon  Daniel,  said,  "Mr.  Mack,  we 
have  reason  to  look  upon  you  as  our  savior,  for  you 
have  delivered  us  from  a  watery  tomb ;  and  I  would 
that  I  could  always  live  near  you.  We  are  now 
assured  that  you  have  not  only  wisdom  to  counsel, 
but,  when  men  have  spurned  your  advice,  you  have 
still  that  greatness  of  soul  which  leads  you  to  risk 
your  own  life  to  save  your  fellow  man.  No,  I  will 
never  leave  you  as  long  as  I  live,  for  I  wish  to  con- 
vince you  that  I  ever  remember  you,  and  that  I  will 
never  slight  your  counsel  again." 

In  this  they  were  all  agreed,  and  they  carried  out 
the  same  in  their  future  lives. 


28  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  VII. 
SOLOMON  MACK, 

My  youngest  brother,  Solomon,  was  born  and 
married  in  the  town  of  Gilsum,  New  Hampshire, 
where  he  is  still  living,^  and,  although  he  is  now  very 
aged,  he  has  never  traveled  farther  than  Boston,  to 
which  place  his  business  leads  him  twice  a  year. 

He  has  gathered  to  himself  in  this  rocky  region, 
fields,  flocks,  and  herds,  which  multiply  and  increase 
upon  the  mountains.  He  has  been  known  for  at 
least  twenty  years  as  Captain  Solomon  Mack,  of 
Gilsum ;  but,  as  he  lives  to  speak  for  himself,  and,  as 
I  have  to  do  chiefly  with  the  dead  and  not  with  the 
living,  I  shall  leave  him,  hoping  that,  as  he  has  lived 
peaceably  with  all  men,  he  may  die  happily. 

I  have  now  given  a  brief  account  of  all  my  father's 
family,  save  myself;  and  what  I  have  written  has 
been  done  with  the  view  of  discharging  an  obligation 
which  I  considered  resting  upon  me,  inasmuch  as 
they  have  all  passed  of£  this  stage  of  action  except 
myself  and  youngest  brother.^  And  seldom  do  I 
meet  with  an  individual  with  whom  I  was  even  ac- 
quainted in  my  early  years,  and  I  am  constrained  to 
exclaim,  "The  friends  of  my  youth?  where  are  they?" 
The  tomb  replies,  "Here  are  they!"  "Rut,  through 
my  instrumentality, 

"Safely  truth  to  urge  her  claims,  presume>s 
On  names  now  found  alone  on  books  and  tombs." 

'1853. 
=1853. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


29 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EARLY  LIFE  OF  LUCY   MACK — HER  MARRIAGE  WITH 
JOSEPH  SMITH. 

1  shall  now  introduce  the  history  of  my  own  life. 
I  was  born  in  the  toi^n  of  Gilsum,  Cheshire  County, 
iMew  Hampshire,  on  the  8th  of  July,  1776, 

When  I  arrived  at  the  age  of  eigiht  years,  my 
mother  had  a  severe  fit  of  sickness.  She  was  so  low 
that  she,  as  well  as  her  friends,  entirely  des.paired  of 
her  recovery.  During  this  sickness  she  called  her 
children  around  her  bed,  and,  after  exhorting  them 
always  to  remember  the  instructions  which  she  had 
given  them — ^to  fear  God  and  walk  uprightly  before 
him,  she  gave  me  to  my  Brother  Stephen,  requesting 
him  to  take  care  of  me  and  bring  me  up  as  his  own 
child,  then  bade  each  of  us  farewell. 

This  my  brother  promised  to  do;  but,  as  my 
mother  shortly  recovered,  it  was  not  necessary,  and 
I  consequently  remained  at  my  father's  house  until 
my  sister  Lovisa  was  married.  Some  time  after 
this  event  I  went  to  South  Hadley  to  pay  Lovisa, 
who  was  living  there,  a  visit. 

I  returned  home  to  my  parents  in  about  six 
months,  and  remained  with  them  in  Gilsum  until 
the  death  of  Lovina,  soon  after  which  my  Brother 
Stephen,  who  was  living  at  Tunbridge,  Vermont, 
came  to  my  father's  on  a  visit;  and  he  insisted  so 
earnestly  on  my  accompanying  him  home  that  my 
parents  consented.    The  grief  occasioned  by  the 


30  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

death  of  Lovina  was  preying  upon  my  health  and 
threatened  my  constitution  with  serious  injury,  and 
they  hoped  that  to  accompany  my  brother  home 
might  serve  to  divert  my  mind  and  thus  prove  a 
benefit  to  me.  For  I  was  pensive  and  melancholy, 
and  often  in  my  reflections  I  thought  that  life  was 
not  worth  possessing. 

In  the  midst  of  this  anxiety g)f  mind  I  determined 
to  obtain  that  which  I  had  heard  spoken  of  so  much 
from  the  pulpit — a  change  of  heart. 

To  accomplish  this  I  spent  much  of  my  time  in 
reading  the  Bible  and  praying ;  but,  notwithstanding 
my  great  anxiety  to  experience  a  change  of  heart, 
another  matter  would  always  interpose  in  all  my 
meditations:  If  I  remain  a  member  of  no  church 
all  religious  people  will  say  I  am  of  the  world;  and, 
if  I  join  some  one  of  the  different  denominations,  all 
the  rest  will  say  I  am  in  error.  No  church  will 
admit  that  I  am  right,  except  the  one  with  which  I 
am  associated.  This  makes  them  witnesses  against 
each  other;  and  how  can  I  decide  in  such  a  case  as 
this,  seeing  they  are  all  unlike  the  church  of  Christ, 
as  it  existed  in  former  days! 

While  I  remained  at  Tunbridge,  I  became  ac- 
quainted with  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Joseph 
bmith,  to  whom  I  was  subsequently  married. 

I  continued  with  my  brother  one  year,  then  went 
home.  I  was  at  home  but  a  short  time  when  my 
brother  came  after  me  again  and  insisted  so  hard 
upon  my  returning  with  him,  that  I  concluded  to  do 
so.  And  this  time  I  remained  with  him  until  I  was 
married,  which  took  place  the  next  January. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


31 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SEVEN  GENERATIONS  OF  THE  SMITH  FAMILY — FOUR 
GENERATIONS  OF  THE  MACK  FAMILY. 

Here,  I  would  like  to  give  the  early  history  of  my 
husband,  for  many  facts  might  be  mentioned,  that 
doubtless  would  be  highly  interesting;  but,  as  I 
am  not  capable  of  giving  them  in  order,  I  shall 
decline  making  the  attempt,  and  in  the  place  thereof 
shall  insert  a  transcript  from  the  record  of  his 
family,  beginning  with  Samuel  Smith,  who  was  the 
son  of  Robert  and  Mary  Smith,  who  came  from 
England. 

The  above  Samuel  Smith,  was  born  January  26, 
1666,  in  Topsfield,  Essex  County,  Massachusetts; 
and  was  married  to  Rebecca  Curtis,  daughter  of 
John  Curtis,  January  25,  1707. 

Children  of  Samuel  and  Rebecca  Smith. 


NAME. 


Phebe  

1st  Mary.  . 
2d  Samuel . 
Rebecca . . . . 
Elizabeth.  . 
Hephzibah. 

Robert  

Susanna.  . . 
Hannah . . . . 


Jan.  8,  1708.  . 

Aug.  14,  1711. 

Jan.  26,  1714. 

Oct.  1,  1715.. 

July  8,  1718.  . 

May  12,  1722. 

Apr.  25,  1724. 

May  2,  1726.  . 

Apr.  5,  1729.  . 


MARRIED. 

To  Steph.  Averel. 

To  Amos  Towne .  . 

To  Priscilla  Gould 

To  John  Batch... 

To  Elizer  Gould.. 

To  Wm.  Gallop.  .  . 


To  John  Peabody.. 


Nov.  14,  178o 

March,  1753. 
Nov.  15,  1774 

May  5,  1741. 
Aug.  17,  1764. 


1st  Samuel  Smith  died  July  12,  1748. 
His  wife,  Rebeoca  Smith  March  2,  1753. 


32  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Children  of  2d  Samuel,  and  1st  Priscilla  Smith,  which 
Samuel  was  the  son  of  1st  Samuel  and  Rebecca  Smith, 


Sep.  26,  1735. 
Oct.  28,  1737. 
Oct.  5,  1739.. 

Jan.  24,  1742. 
Mar.  1.  1744.. 


To    Jacob  Kimball, 
Sep.  15,  1755. 
To  Rebec.  Towne, 
Jan.  2,  1760. 
To  Solomon  Curtis, 
Sep.  15,  1763. 
The  2d  time  to 
Jacob   Hobbs,  1767. 
To  Isaac  Hobbs, 

1767. 
To  Mary  Duty, 
Feb.  12,  1761. 


Children  of  1st  Asael  and  Mary  Smith;  which  Asael  was  the 
son  of  2d  Samuel  and  Priscilla  Smith. 


Apr.  20,  1768 

Oct.  27,  1769. 

July  12,  1771. 

May  21,  1773. 

June  4,  1775 .  . 

Sep.  15,  1777. 

Oct.  1,  1779.. 


July  16,  1781. 

May  18,  1783. 

Apr.  17,  1785. 

May  17,  1789. 


To   Hanh.  Peabody, 
Jan.  20,  1792. 

To  John  C.  Waller, 
Aug.  24,  1796. 
To  Lucy  Mack, 
Jan.  24,  1796. 

To  Betsy  Schllllnger, 
Mar.  21,  1802. 
To  Israel  Pierce, 

To  Ruth  Stevens, 

Jan.  29,  1805. 
The  second  time 
to  Mary  Atkins, 
March  4,  1828. 
To  Clarissa  Lyman, 
Sep.  11,  1815. 


To  Joseph  Sanford, 
Oct.  15,  1809. 


Sep.   14,  1840. 


July  25,  1802. 
May  27,  1824. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


33 


Children  of  1st  Jesse  and  Hannah  Smith;  which  Jesse  was 
the  son  of  1st  Asael  and  Mary  Smith. 


Benjamin  G.. 

Eliza, 

Ira, 

Harvy, 

Harniet, 

Stephen, 

Mary, 

Catherine, 

Royal, 

Sarah, 


was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 


born 
born 
born 
born 
born 
born 
born 
born 
born 
born 


May 

March 

Jan. 

April 

April 

May 

May 

July 

July 

Dec. 


2,  1793. 

9,  1795. 

30,  1797. 

1,  1799. 
8,  1801. 

2,  1803. 
4,  1805. 

13,  1807. 

2,  1809. 

16,  1810. 


Children  of  John  C.  and  Priscilla  Waller;  which  Priscilla  was 
the  daughter  of  1st  Asael  Smith. 


Calvin  C, 
Dolly, 
Marshall, 
Royal, 
Dudley  C, 
Bushrod, 
Silas  B., 
Sally  P., 
John  H., 


was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 
was 


born 
bom 
born 
born 
boi-n 
boi-n 
born 
born 
born 


June 

Got. 

March 

Nov. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Jan. 

Oct. 

Sept. 


6,  1797. 
16,  1799. 
18,  1801. 
29,  1802. 
29,  1804. 
18,  1806. 

1,  1809. 
31,  1810. 

9,  1812. 


Children  of  1st  Joseph  and  Lucy  Smith;  which  Joseph  was  the 
son  of  the  1st  Asael  and  Mary  Smith. 


Alvin . . 
Hyrum . 


Sophronia . . 
2d  Joseph . . 


Feb.  11,  1799. 
Feb.  9,  1800.  . 
Tunbridge, 
Vermont. 


Tunbridge, 
Vermont. 
Dec.  23,  1805. 

Sharon, 
May  18,  180.3. 
Windsor  Co., 


To  Jerusha  Harden, 

Nov.  2,  1826. 
Manchester,    N.  Y. 
To  Mary  Fielding, 
1837. 


To  Calvin  Stoddard, 
Dec.  2,  1827, 
Palmyra,  N.  Y. 
To  Emma  Hale, 
daughter  of  Isaac 
Hale,  in  South 


Nov.  19,  1824. 
Murdered  by  mob, 
June  27,  1844,  in 
Carthage  Jail, 
Hancock  County, 
Illinois,  while 
under  the  protec- 
tion of  Governor 
Thomas  Ford. 


Murdered  by  a 
mob,  June  27, 
1844,  in  Carthage 


34 


JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


BOR?. 

Vermont. 


Mar.  13,  1S08. 
Tunbridge, 
Vermont. 


Mar.  13,  1810. 

Mar.  13,  1811. 
Royalton, 
Vermont. 

July  8,  1812. 
Lebanon,  N. 
Hampshire. 
Mar.  25,  1816. 


July  18.  1821. 


Bainbridge,  Chen- 
ango County,  N.  Y., 
Jan.  18,  1827. 


To  Mary  Daily, 
Aug.  13,  1834. 
To   Levira  Clark, 
Apr.  29,  1842. 


To   Caroline  Grant, 
daughter  of 
Joshua  Grant, 
Feb.  14,  1833. 
To  Wilkins  J. 

Salisbury, 
Jan.  8,  1831. 
To  Agnes  Coolbrith, 
July  30,  1835. 
Kirtland,  Ohio. 
To  Arthur  Millikin, 
June  4,  1840. 
Nauvoo. 


DIED. 

Jail,  Hancock  Co., 
Illinois,  while 
under   the  protec- 
tion of  Governor 
Thomas  Ford. 
July  30,  1844,  of 
a  fever,  occasioned 
by  over  exertion 
in  getting  away 
from   a  mob, 
when  his  brothers 
were  killed. 
Mar.  24,  1810. 


.Vug.  7,  1841. 


Children  of  2d  Asael  and  Betsy  Smith;  ivhich  Asael  was  the 
son  of  1st  Asael  and  Mary  Smith. 


Elias,  was  born  Sep.  6,  1804. 

Emily,  was  born  Sep.  1,  1806. 

2d  Jessie  J.,  was  born  Oct.  6,  1808. 

Esther,  was  born  Sep.  20,  1810. 

Mary  J.,  was  bom  April  28,  1813. 

Julia  P.,  was  born  March    4,  1815. 

Martha,  was  born  June  9,  1817. 

2d  Silas,  was  born  June  5,  1822. 

Children  of  Israel  and  Mary  Pierce;  which  Mary  was  the 

daughter  of  1st  Asael  and  Mary  Smith. 

Eunice,  was  born  April  29,  1799. 

Miranda,  was  born  June  17,  1803. 

Horace,  was  bom  June  8,  ISO.S. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


John  S.,  was  born  March    6,  1807. 

Susan,  was  born  June    20,  1809. 

Mary,  was  born  April    25,  1811. 

Laura,  was  born  Feb.       8,  1814. 

Eliza  A.,  was  born  Sep.       2,  1817. 

Children  of  1st  Silas  and  Ruth  Smith;  which  Silas  was  th 
son  of  1st  Asael  and  Mary  Smith. 

Charles,  was  born  Nov.     11,  1806. 

Charity,  was  born  April     1,  1808. 

Curtis  S.,  was  born  Oct.      29,  1809. 

6th  Samuel,  was  born  Oct.       3,  1811. 

Stephen,  was  born  Jan.       8,  1815. 

Susan,  was  born  Oct.      19,  1817. 

3d  Asael,  was  born  Oct.      12,  1819. 

Children  by  his  second  wife,  Mary  Smith. 

Silas  L.,  was  born  Oct.      20,  1830. 

John  A.,  was  born  July       6,  1832. 

Nathaniel  J.,         was  born  Dec.       2,  1834. 

Children  of  1st  John  and  Clarissa  Smith;  which  John  was  th 
son  of  1st  Asael  and  Mary  Smith. 

George  A.,  was  born  June    26,  1817.  ( 

Caroline,  was  born  June      6,  1820. 

2d  John  L.,  was  born  Nov.     17,  1823. 

Children  of  Hyrum  and  Jerusha  Smith;  which  Hyrum  wa 
the  son  of  1st  Joseph  and  Lucy  Smith. 

Lovina,  was  born  Sep.     16,  1827. 

Mary,  was  born  June     27,  1829. 

John,  was  born  Sep.     22,  1832. 

2d  Hyrum,  was  born  April    27,  1834. 

Jerusha,  was  born  Jan.      13,  1836. 

Sarah,  was  born  Oct.       2,  1837. 

Children  of  Hyrum  Smith  and  Mary,  his  second  wife. 

4th  Joseph,  was  bom  Nov.    13,  1838. 

Martha,  was  bom  May     14,  1841. 


36  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Children  of  2d  Joseph,  the  Prophet,  and  Emma  Smith;  which 
Joseph  was  the  son  of  1st  Joseph  and  Lucy  Smith. 

Julia  M.  Smith,  adopted  daughter,  was  born  April  30,  1831. 

3d  Joseph,  was  bom  Nov.  6,  1832. 

Frederick  G.  W.,  was  born  June  20,  1836. 

Alexander,  was  born  June  2,  1838. 

Don  Carlos,  was  born  June  13,  1840. 

David  H.,  was  born  Nov.  18,  1844. 


Children  of  5th  Samuel  Smith  and  Mary,  his  first  wife;  which 
Samuel  was  the  son  of  1st  Joseph  and  Lucy  Smith. 

Susanna  B.,  was  bom  Oct.     27,  1835. 

MaryB.,  was  born  March  27,  1837. 

Samuel  H.  B.,  was  bora  Aug.      1,  1838. 

LucyB.,  was  born  Jan.     31,  1841. 

Mary  Smith  died  January  25,  1841, 

Children  of  Samuel  Smith  and  Levira,  his  second  wife, 

Leviira  A.  C,  was  born  April  29,  1842. 
Lovisa  C,  was  born  Aug.    28,  1843. 

Lucy  J.  C,  was  born  Aug.    20,  1844. 


(Children  of  William  and  Caroline  Smith;  which  Willia7n  was 
the  son  of  1st  Joseph  and  Lucy  Smith. 

Mary  Jane,  was  born  Jan.     — ,  1835. 

Caroline  L.,  was  born  Aug.  — ,  1836. 


Children  of  Don  Carlos  and  Agnes  Smith;  which  Don  Carlos 
was  the  son  of  1st  Joseph  and  Lucy  Smith. 

Agnes  C,  was  born  Aug.      1,  1836. 

Sophronia  C,        was  'born  ,  1838. 

Josephine  D.,         was  born  March  10,  1841. 


Children  of  Calvin  and  Sophronia  Stoddard. 


Eunice, 
Maria, 


was  bom  March  22,  1830. 
was  born  April    12.  1832. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


37 


Children  of  Wilkins  J.  and  Catherine  Salisbury;  which  Cathe- 
rine was  the  daughter  of  1st  Joseph  Smith. 


Eizabeth,  was  born  April     9,  1832. 

Lucy,  was  bom  Oct.       3,  1834. 

Solomon  J.,  was  born  Sept.    18,  1835. 

Alvin,  was  born  June      7,  1838. 

Don  C,  was  born  Oct.      25,  1841. 

Emma  C,  was  born  March  25,  1844. 


Arthur  and  Lucy  Millikin  have  one  ison,  named  Don  Carlos 
Millikin. 

George  A.  Smith,  son  of  1st  John  Smith,  was  married  to 
Bathsheba  Bdgler,  July  25,  1841. 

Children  of  George  A.  and  Bathsheba  Smith. 

George  Albert,  was  born  July  7,  1842. 
Bathsheba,  was  born  Aug.     14,  1844. 

Having  now  given  all  the  names  belonging  to  the 
family  of  Smith,  I  shall  take  up  another  lineage, 
namely,  that  of  the  Mack  family,  commencing  with 
my  grandfather,  Ebenezer  Mack.  Ebenezer  Mack 
had  three  sons,  Elisha,  Samuel,  and  Solomon,  and  one 
daughter  named  Hypsebeth.  His  son  Solomon  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Lyme,  state  of  Connecticut,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1735 ;  was  married  to  a  young  woman  by 
the  name  of  Lydia  Gates,  in  the  year  1759.  This 
Lydia  Gates  was  born  in  East  Haddam,  state  of  Con- 
necticut, September  3,  1735. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  children  of  1st  Solomon 
and  Lydia  Mack;  which  Solomon  was  the  son  of 
Ebenezer  and  Hannah  Mack. 

Jason  Mack,  Lovisa  Mack. 

Stephen  Mack,  Lovina  Mack. 

Daniel  Mack,  Lydia. 

2d  Solomon  Mack,  Lucy  Mack. 


38  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


Children  of  2d  Solomon  Mack;  which  Solomon  was  the  son  of 
1st  Solomon  Mack. 


Calvin,  was  bom  Nov.  28,  1797. 

Orlando,  was  born  Sep.  23,  1799. 

Chilon,  was  bom  July  26,  1802. 

3d  Solomon,  was  born  May  23,  1805. 

Amos,  was  boom  May  1,  1807. 

Dennis,  was  bom  Oct.  18,  1809. 

Merril,  was  born  Sep.  14,  1812. 

Esther,  was  born  April  2,  1815. 

Rizpah,  was  born  June  5,  1818. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  PRESENT  OF  ONE  THOUSAND  DOLLARS,  FROM  JOHN 
MUDGET  AND  STEPHEN  MACK. 

Soon  after  I  was  married,  I  went  with  my  husband 
to  see  my  parents,  and  as  we  were  about  setting 
out  on  this  visit,  my  Brother  Stephen,  and  his  part- 
ner in  business,  John  Mudget,  were  making  some 
remarks  in  regard  to  my  leaving  them,  and  the  con- 
versation presently  turned  upon  the  subject  of 
giving  me  a  marriage  present.  "Well,"  said  Mr. 
Mudget,  "Lucy  ought  to  have  something  worth 
naming,  and  I  will  give  her  just  as  much  as  you 
will." 

"Done,"  said  my  brother,  "I  will  give  her  five  hun- 
dred dollars  in  cash." 

"Good,"  said  the  other,  "and  I  will  give  her  five 
hundred  dollars  more." 

So  they  wrote  a  check  on  their  bankers  for  one 
thousand  dollars,  and  presented  me  with  the  same. 


AND  HIS.  PROGENITORS 


39 


This  check  I  laid  aside,  as  I  had  other  means  by  me 
sufficient  to  purchase  my  housekeeping  furniture. 
Having  visited  my  father  and  mother,  we  returned 
■again  to  Tunbridge,  where  my  companion  owned  a 
handsome  farm,  upon  which  we  settled  ourselves, 
and  began  to  cultivate  the  soil.  We  lived  on  this 
place  about  six  years,  tilling  the  earth  for  a  liveli- 
hood. 

In  1802  we  rented  our  farm  in  Tunbridge,  and 
moved  to  the  town  of  Randolph,  where  we  opened 
a  mercantile  establishment.  When  we  came  to  this 
place  we  had  two  children,  Alvin  and  Hyrum. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

SICKNESS  IN  RANDOLPH. 

We  had  lived  in  Randolph  but  six  months  when  I 
took  a  heavy  cold,  which  caused  a  severe  cough.  To 
relieve  this,  every  possible  exertion  was  made,  but  it 
was  all  in  vain.  A  hectic  fever  set  in,  which  threat- 
ened to  prove  fatal,  and  the  physician  pronounced 
my  case  to  be  confirmed  consumption.  During  this 
sickness  my  mother  watched  over  me  with  much 
anxiety,  sparing  herself  no  pains  in  administering 
to  my  comfort,  yet  I  continued  to  grow  weaker,  until 
I  could  scarcely  endure  even  a  footfall  upon  the  floor, 
except  in  stocking-foot,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to 
speak  in  the  room  above  a  whisper. 

While  I  was  in  this  situation  a  Methodist  exhorter 


40  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET. 

came  to  see  me.  On  coming  to  the  door,  he  knocked 
in  his  usual  manner,  and  his  knocking  so  agitated 
me  that  it  was  a  considerable  length  of  time  before 
my  nerves  became  altogether  quieted  again.  My 
mother  motioned  him  to  a  chair,  and  in  a  whisper 
informed  him  of  my  situation,  which  prevented  his 
asking  me  any  questions.  He  tarried  some  time, 
and  while  he  sat  he  seemed  deeply  to  meditate  upon 
the  uncertainty  of  my  recovering;  in  the  meantime, 
he  showed  a  great  desire  to  have  conversation  with 
me  respecting  my  dying. 

AS  he  thus  sat  pondering,  I  fancied  to  myself  that 
he  was  going  to  asK  me  if  I  was  prepared  to  die,  and 
I  dreaded  to  have  him_  speak  to  me,  for  then  I  did 
not  consider  myself  ready  for  such  an  awful  event, 
inasmuch  as  I  knew  not  the  ways  of  Christ ;  besides, 
there  appeared  to  be  a  dark  and  lonesome  chasm, 
between  myself  and  the  Savior,  which  1  dared  not 
attempt  to  pass. 

T  thought  I  strained  my  eyes,  and  by  doing  so  I 
could  discern  a  faint  glimmer  of  the  light  that  was 
beyond  the  gloom  which  lay  immediately  before  me. 

When  I  was  meditating  upon  death,  in  this  man- 
ner, my  visitor  left,  soon  after  which  my  husband 
came  to  my  bed,  and  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  said, 
"0,  Lucy!  my  wife!  my  wife!  you  must  die!  The 
doctors  have  given  you  up;  and  all  say  you  can  not 
live." 

i  then  looked  to  the  Lord,  and  begged  and  pleaded 
with  him  to  spare  my  life  in  order  that  I  might  bring 
up  my  children,  and  be  a  comfort  to  my  husband. 
My  mind  was  much  agitated  during  the  whole  night. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


41 


Sometimes  I  contemplated  heaven  and  heavenly 
things;  then  my  thoughts  would  turn  upon  those  of 
earth — my  babes  and  my  companion. 

During  this  night  I  made  a  solemn  covenant  with 
God,  that,  if  he  would  let  me  live,  I  would  endeavor 
to  serve  him  according  to  the  best  of  my  abilities. 
Shortly  after  this,  I  heard  a  voice  say  to  me,  "Seek, 
and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto 
you.  Let  your  heart  be  comforted;  ye  believe  in 
God,  believe  also  in  me." 

In  a  few  moments  my  mother  came  in,  and,  look- 
ing upon  me,  she  said,  "Lucy,  you  are  better." 

I  replied,  as  my  speech  returned  at  that  instant, 
"Yes,  mother,  the  Lord  will  let  me  live,  if  I  am  faith- 
ful to  the  promise  which  I  made  to  him,  to  be  a 
comfort  to  my  mother,  my  husband,  and  my  chil- 
dren." I  continued  to  gain  strength,  until  I  became 
quite  well  as  to  bodily  health ;  but  my  mind  was  con- 
siderably disquieted.  It  was  wholly  occupied  upon 
the  subject  of  religion.  As  soon  as  I  was  able,  I 
made  all  diligence  in  endeavoring  to  find  some  one 
who  was  capable  of  instructing  me  more  perfectly 
in  the  way  of  life  and  salvation. 

As  soon  as  I  had  strength  sufficient,  I  visited  one 
Deacon  Davies,  a  man  whom  I  regarded  as  exceed- 
ingly pious;  and,  as  he  was  apprised  of  my  sudden 
and  miraculous  recovery,  I  expected  to  hear  about 
the  same  which  I  had  heard  from  my  mother — "The 
Lord  has  done  a  marvelous  work;  let  his  name  have 
the  praise  thereof."  But,  no;  from  the  time  I  ar- 
rived at  his  house  until  I  left,  I  heard  nothing, 
except,  "Oh,  Mrs.  Smith  has  come — help  her  in — 


42  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

run,  build  a  fire,  malce  tlie  room  warm — fill  the  tea- 
kettle— get  the  great  arm-chair,"  etc.,  etc.  Their 
excessive  anxiety  concerning  my  physical  conven- 
ience and  comfort,  without  being  seasoned  with  one 
word  in  relation  to  Christ  or  godliness,  sickened  me, 
and  I  returned  home  very  sorrowful  and  much  dis- 
appointed. 

From  my  anxiety  of  mind  to  abide  the  covenant 
which  I  had  made  with  the  Lord,  I  went  from  place 
to  place,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  information,  and 
finding,  if  it  were  possible,  some  congenial  spirit 
who  could  enter  into  my  feelings,  and  thus  be  able 
to  strengthen  and  assist  me  in  carrying  out  my 
resolutions. 

I  heard  that  a  very  devout  man  was  to  preach 
the  next  Sabbath  in  the  Presbyterian  church  ;  I 
therefore  went  to  meeting,  in  the  full  expectation  of 
hearing  that  which  my  soul  desired — the  Word  of 
Life.  When  the  minister  commenced  speaking,  I 
fixed  my  mind  with  deep  attention  upon  the  spirit 
and  matter  of  his  discourse;  but,  after  hearing  him 
through,  I  returned  home,  convinced  that  he  neither 
understood  nor  appreciated  the  subject  upon  which 
he  spoke,  and  I  said  in  my  heart  that  there  was  not 
then  upon  earth  the  religion  which  I  sought.  I 
therefore  determined  to  examine  my  Bible,  and, 
taking  Jesus  and  his  disciples  for  my  guide,  to 
endeavor  to  obtain  from  God  that  which  man  could 
neither  give  nor  take  away.  Notwithstanding  this, 
I  would  hear  all  that  could  be  said,  as  well  as  read 
much  that  was  written,  on  the  subject  of  religion, 
but  the  Bible  I  intended  should  be  my  guide  to  life 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


43 


and  salvation.  This  course  I  pursued  a  number  of 
years.  At  length  I  considered  it  my  duty  to  be 
baptized,  and,  finding  a  minister  who  was  willing  to 
baptize  me,  and  leave  me  free  in  regard  to  joining 
any  religious  denomination,  I  stepped  forward  and 
yielded  obedience  to  this  ordinance;  after  which  I 
continued  to  read  the  Bible  as  formerly,  until  my 
eldest  son  had  attained  his  twenty-second  year. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR,  LOSES  HIS  PROPERTY  AND 
BECOMES  POOR — RECEIVES  A  VISIT  FROM  JASON 
MACK — THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  LATTER, 
CONCLUDED. 

My  husband,  as  before  stated,  followed  merchan- 
dising for  a  short  period  in  the  town  of  Randolph. 
Soon  after  he  commenced  business  in  this  place,  he 
ascertained  that  crystalized  ginseng  root  sold  very 
high  in  China,  being  used  as  a  remedy  for  the  plague, 
which  was  then  raging  there. 

He  therefore  concluded  to  embark  in  a  traffic  of 
this  article,  and  consequently  made  an  investment  of 
all  the  means  which  he  commanded,  in  that  way  and 
manner  which  was  necessary  to  carry  on  a  business 
of  this  kind,  viz,  crystalizing  and  exporting  the  root. 
When  he  had  obtained  a  quantity  of  the  same,  a 
merchant  by  the  name  of  Stevens,  of  Royalton, 
offered  him  three  thousand  dollars  for  what  he  had ; 


44  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

but  my  husband  refused  his  offer,  as  it  was  only 
about  two  thirds  of  its  real  value,  and  told  the 
gentleman  that  he  would  rather  venture  shipping  it 
himself. 

My  husband,  in  a  short  time,  went  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  with  the  view  of  shipping  his  ginseng, 
and  finding  a  vessel  in  port  which  was  soon  to  set 
sail,  he  made  arrangements  with  the  captain  to  this 
effect — that  he  was  to  sell  the  ginseng  in  China,  and 
return  the  avails  thereof  to  my  husband;  and  this 
the  captain  bound  himself  to  do,  in  a  written  obli- 
gation. 

Mr.  Stevens,  hearing  that  Mr.  Smith  was  making 
arrangements  to  ship  his  ginseng,  repaired  immedi- 
ately to  New  York,  and,  by  taking  some  pains,  he 
ascertained  the  vessel  on  board  of  which  Mr.  Smith 
had  shipped  his  ginseng;  and  having  some  of  the 
same  article  on  hand  himself,  he  made  arrangements 
with  the  captain  to  take  his  also,  and  he  was  to  send 
his  son  on  board  the  vessel  to  take  charge  of  it. 

It  appears,  from  circumstances  that  afterwards 
transpired,  that  the  ginseng  was  taken  to  China,  and 
sold  there  to  good  advantage,  or  at  a  high  price,  but 
not  to  much  advantage  to  us,  for  we  never  received 
anything,  except  a  small  chest  of  tea,  of  the  avails 
arising  from  this  adventure. 

When  the  vessel  returned,  Stevens  the  younger 
also  returned  with  it,  and  when  my  husband  became 
apprised  of  his  arrival,  he  went  immediately  to  him 
and  made  inquiry  respecting  the  success  of  the  cap- 
tain in  selling  his  ginseng.  Mr.  Stevens  told  him 
quite  a  plausible  tale,  the  particulars  of  which  I  have 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


45 


forgotten;  but  the  amount  of  it  was,  that  the  sale 
had  been  a  perfect  failure,  and  the  only  thing  which 
had  been  brought  for  Mr.  Smith  from  China  was  a 
small  chest  of  tea,  which  chest  had  been  delivered 
into  his  care,  for  my  husband. 

In  a  short  time  after  this  young  Stevens  hired  a 
house  of  Major  Mack,  and  employed  eight  or  ten 
hands,  and  commenced  the  business  of  crystalizing 
ginseng.  Soon  after  engaging  in  this  business, 
when  he  had  got  fairly  at  work,  my  brother.  Major 
Mack,  went  to  see  him,  and,  as  it  happened,  he  found 
him  considerably  intoxicated.  When  my  brother 
came  into  his  presence,  he  spoke  to  him  thus,  "Well, 
Mr.  Stevens,  you  are  doing  a  fine  business;  you 
will  soon  be  ready  for  another  trip  to  China."  Then 
observed  again,  in  a  quite  indifferent  manner,  "Oh, 
Mr.  Stevens,  how  much  did  Brother  Smith's  adven- 
ture bring?"  Being  under  the  influence  of  liquor, 
he  was  not  on  his  guard,  and  took  my  brother  by 
the  hand  and  led  him  to  a  trunk;  then  opening  it, 
he  observed,  "There,  sir,  are  the  proceeds  of  Mr. 
Smith's  ginseng!"  exhibiting  a  large  amount  of 
silver  and  gold. 

My  brother  was  much  astounded  at  this ;  however, 
he  disguised  his  feelings,  and  conversed  with  him  a 
short  time  upon  different  subjects,  then  returned 
home,  and  about  ten  o'clock  the  same  night  he 
started  for  Randolph,  to  see  my  husband. 

When  Mr.  Stevens  had  overcome  his  intoxication, 
he  began  to  reflect  upon  what  he  had  done,  and 
making  some  inquiry  concerning  my  brother,  he 
ascertained  that  he  had  gone  to  Randolph.  Mr. 


46  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Stevens,  conjecturing  his  business — that  he  had 
gone  to  see  my  husband  respecting  the  ginseng  ad- 
venture, went  immediately  to  his  establishment,  dis- 
missed his  hands,  called  his  carriage,  and  fled  with 
his  cash  for  Canada,  and  I  have  never  heard  any- 
thing concerning  him  since. 

My  husband  pursued  him  a  while,  but  finding  pur- 
suit vain,  returned  home  much  dispirited  at  the 
state  of  his  affairs.  He  then  went  to  work  to  over- 
haul his  accounts,  in  order  to  see  how  he  stood  with 
the  world;  upon  which  he  discovered  that,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  loss  sustained  by  the  China  adventure,  he 
had  lost  about  two  thousand  dollars  in  bad  debts. 
At  the  time  he  sent  his  venture  to  China  he  was 
owing  eighteen  hundred  dollars  in  the  city  of  Boston, 
for  store  goods,  and  he  expected  to  discharge  the 
debt  at  the  return  of  the  China  expedition;  but, 
having  invested  almost  all  his  means  in  ginseng,  the 
loss  which  he  suffered  in  this  article  rendered  it 
impossible  for  him  to  pay  his  debt  with  the  property 
which  remained  in  his  hands.  The  principal  depend- 
ence left  him  in  the  shape  of  property,  was  the  farm 
at  Tunbridge,  upon  which  we  were  then  living, 
having  moved  back  to  this  place  immediately  after 
his  venture  was  sent  to  China.  This  farm,  which 
was  worth  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  my  hus- 
band sold  for  eight  hundred  dollars,  in  order  to 
make  a  speedy  payment  on  the  Boston  debt;  and,  as 
I  had  not  used  the  check  of  one  thousand  dollars, 
which  my  brother  and  Mr.  Mudget  gave  me,  I 
added  it  to  the  eight  hundred  dollars  obtained  for 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


47 


the  farm,  ana  Dy  Uiis  means  the  whole  debt  was 
liquidated. 

While  we  were  living  on  the  Tunbridge  farm,  my 
Brother  Jason  made  us  a  visit.  He  brought  with 
him  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  William  Smith,  a 
friendless  orphan,  whom  he  had  adopted  as  his  own 
son,  and,  previous  to  this  time,  had  kept  constantly 
with  him;  but  he  now  thought  best  to  leave  him  with 
us,  for  the  purpose  of  having  him  go  to  school.  He 
remained  with  us,  however,  only  six  months  before 
my  brother  came  again  and  took  him  to  New  Bruns- 
wick, which  they  afterwards  made  their  home,  and 
v.'here  my  brother  had  gathered  together  some  thirty 
families  on  a  tract  of  land  which  he  had  purchased 
for  the  purpose  of  assisting  poor  persons  to  the 
means  of  sustaining  themselves.  He  planned  their 
work  for  them,  and  when  they  raised  anything  which 
they  wished  to  sell,  he  took  it  to  market  for  them. 
Owning  a  schooner  himself,  he  took  their  produce 
to  Liverpool,  as  it  was  then  the  best  market. 

When  Jason  set  out  on  the  above-mentioned  visit 
to  Tunbridge,  he  purchased  a  quantity  of  goods 
which  he  intended  as  presents  for  his  friends,  espe- 
cially his  mother  and  sisters ;  but,  on  his  way  thither, 
he  found  so  many  objects  of  charity,  that  he  gave 
away  not  only  the  goods,  but  most  of  his  money. 
On  one  occasion,  he  saw  a  woman  who  had  just  lost 
her  husband,  and  who  was  very  destitute;  he  gave 
her  fifteen  dollars  in  money,  and  a  full  suit  of  clothes 
for  herself  and  each  of  her  children,  which  were  six 
in  number. 

This  was  the  last  interview  I  ever  had  with  my 


48  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Brother  Jason,  but,  twenty  years  later,  he  wrote  the 
following  letter  to  my  Brother  Solomon,  and  that  is 
about  all  the  intelligence  I  have  ever  received  from 
him  since  I  saw  him : 

"South  Branch  of  Ormucto,  Province  of 

New  Brunswick,  June  30,  1835. 
"My  Dear  Brother  Solomon:  You  will,  no  doubt, 
be  surprised  to  hear  that  I  am  still  alive,  although 
in  an  absence  of  twenty  years  I  have  never  written 
to  you  before.  But  I  trust  you  will  forgive  me  when 
I  tell  you  that  for  most  of  the  twenty  years,  I  have 
been  so  situated  that  I  have  had  little  or  no  com- 
munication with  the  lines,  and  have  been  holding 
meetings,  day  and  night,  from  place  to  place; 
besides,  my  mind  has  been  so  taken  up  with  the 
deplorable  situation  of  the  earth,  the  darkness  in 
which  it  lies,  that,  when  my  labors  did  call  me  near 
the  lines,  I  did  not  realize  the  opportunity  which  pre- 
sented itself  of  letting  you  know  where  I  was.  And, 
again,  I  have  designed  visiting  you  long  since,  and 
annually  have  promised  myself  that  the  succeeding 
year  I  would  certainly  seek  out  my  relatives,  and 
enjoy  the  privilege  of  one  pleasing  interview  with 
them  before  I  passed  into  the  valley  and  shadow  of 
death.  But  last,  though  not  least,  let  me  not 
startle  you  when  I  say,  that  according  to  my  early 
adopted  principles  of  the  power  of  faith,  the  Lord 
has,  in  his  exceeding  kindness,  bestowed  upon  me 
the  gift  of  healing  by  the  prayer  of  faith,  and  the 
use  of  such  simple  means  as  seem  congenial  to  the 
human  system;  but  my  chief  reliance  is  upon  him 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


49 


<vho  organized  us  at  the  first,  and  can  restore  at 
pleasure  that  which  is  disorganized. 

"The  first  of  my  peculiar  success  in  this  way  was 
twelve  years  since,  and  from  nearly  that  date  I  have 
had  little  rest.  In  addition  to  the  incessant  calls 
which  I,  in  a  short  time  had,  there  was  the  most 
overwhelming  torrent  of  opposition  poured  down 
upon  me  that  I  ever  witnessed.  But  it  pleased  God 
to  take  the  weak  to  confound  the  wisdom  of  the 
wise.  I  have  in  the  last  twelve  years  seen  the 
greatest  manifestations  of  the  power  of  God  in  heal- 
ing the  sick,  that,  with  all  my  sanguinity,  I  ever 
hoped  or  imagined.  And  when  the  learned  infidel 
has  declared  with  sober  face,  time  and  again,  that 
disease  had  obtained  such  an  ascendency  that  death 
could  be  resisted  no  longer,  .that  the  victim  must 
wither  beneath  his  potent  arm,  I  have  seen  the 
almost  lifeless  clay  slowly  but  surely  resuscitated, 
and  revive,  till  the  pallid  monster  fled  so  far  that  the 
patient  was  left  in  the  full  bloom  of  vigorous  health. 
But  it  is  God  that  hath  done  it,  and  to  him  let  all 
the  praise  be  given. 

"I  am  now  compelled  to  close  this  epistle,  for  I 
must  start  immediately  on  a  journey  of  more  than 
one  hundred  miles,  to  attend  a  heavy  case  of  sick- 
ness ;  so  God  be  with  you  all.    Farewell ! 

"Jason  Mack." 

The  next  intelligence  we  received  concerning 
Jason,  after  his  letter  to  Brother  Solomon,  was,  that 
he,  his  wife,  and  oldest  son,  were  dead,  and  this 
concludes  my  account  of  my  Brother  Jason. 


50  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  author's  dream. 

While  we  were  living  in  the  town  of  Tunbridge, 
my  mind  became  deeply  impressed  with  the  subject 
of  religion;  which,  probably,  was  occasioned  by  my 
singular  experience  during  my  sickness  at  Randolph. 
I  began  to  attend  Methodist  meetings,  and,  to  oblige 
me,  my  husband  accompanied  me;  but  when  this 
came  to  the  ears  of  his  father  and  oldest  brother, 
they  were  so  displeased,  and  said  so  much  in  regard 
to  the  matter,  that  my  husband  thought  it  best  to 
desist.  He  said  that  he  considered  it  as  hardly 
worth  our  while  to  attend  the  meetings  any  longer, 
as  it  would  prove  of  but  little  advantage  to  us; 
besides  this,  it  gave  our  friends  such  disagreeable 
feelings.  I  was  considerably  hurt  by  this,  yet  I 
made  no  reply.  I  retired  to  a  grove  not  far  distant, 
where  I  prayed  to  the  Lord  in  behalf  of  my  husband 
— that  the  true  gospel  might  be  presented  to  him, 
and  that  his  heart  might  be  softened  so  as  to  receive 
it,  or,  that  he  might  become  more  religiously  in- 
clined. After  praying  some  time  in  this  manner, 
I  returned  to  the  house,  much  depressed  in  spirit, 
which  state  of  feeling  continued  until  I  retired  to 
my  bed.  I  soon  fell  asleep,  and  had  the  following 
dream : 

I  thought  that  I  stood  in  a  large  and  beautiful 
meadow,  which  lay  a  short  distance  from  the  house 
in  which  we  lived,  and  that  everything  around  me 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


51 


wore  an  aspect  of  peculiar  pleasantness.  The  first 
thing  that  attracted  my  special  attention  in  this 
magnificent  meadow,  was  a  very  pure  and  clear 
stream  of  water,  which  ran  through  the  midst  of  it; 
and  as  I  traced  this  stream,  I  discovered  two  trees 
standing  upon  its  margin,  both  of  which  were  on 
the  same  side  of  the  stream.  These  trees  were  very 
beautiful,  they  were  well  proportioned,  and  towered 
with  majesty  beauty  to  a  great  height.  Their 
branches,  which  added  to  their  symmetry  and  glory, 
commenced  near  the  top,  and  spread  themselves  in 
luxurious  grandeur  around.  I  gazed  upon  them 
with  wonder  and  admiration;  and  after  beholding 
them  a  short  time,  I  saw  one  of  them  was  sur- 
rounded with  a  bright  belt,  that  shone  like  burnished 
gold,  but  far  more  brilliantly.  Presently,  a  gentle 
breeze  passed  by,  and  the  tree  encircled  with  this 
golden  zone,  bent  gracefully  before  the  wind,  and 
waved  its  beautiful  branches  in  the  light  air.  As 
the  wind  increased,  this  tree  assumed  the  most  lively 
and  animated  appearance,  and  seemed  to  express  in 
its  motions,  the  utmost  joy  and  happiness.  If  it  had 
been  an  intelligent  creature,  it  could  not  have  con- 
veyed, by  the  power  of  language,  the  idea  of  joy  and 
gratitude  so  perfectly  as  it  did ;  and  even  the  stream 
that  rolled  beneath  it,  shared,  apparently,  every  sen- 
sation felt  by  the  tree,  for,  as  the  branches  danced 
over  the  stream,  it  would  swell  gently,  then  recede 
again  with  a  motion  as  soft  as  the  breathing  of  an 
infant,  but  as  lively  as  the  dancing  of  a  sunbeam. 
The  belt  also  partook  of  the  same  influence,  and  as 
it  moved  in  unison  with  the  motion  of  the  stream 


52  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

and  of  tlie  tree,  it  increased  continually  in  refulgence 
and  magnitude,  until  it  became  exceedingly  glorious. 

I  turned  my  eyes  upon  its  fellow,  which  stood 
opposite ;  but  it  was  not  surrounded  with  the  belt  of 
light  as  the  former,  and  it  £>tood  erect  and  fixed  as 
a  pillar  of  marble.  No  matter  how  strong  the  wind 
blew  over  it,  not  a  leaf  was  stirred,  not  a  bough  was 
bent ;  but  obstinately  stiff  it  stood,  scorning  alike  the 
zephyr's  breath,  or  the  power  of  the  mighty  storm. 

I  wondered  at  what  I  saw,  and  said  in  my  heart. 
What  can  be  the  meaning  of  all  this?  And  the 
interpretation  given  me  was,  that  these  personated 
my  husband  and  his  oldest  brother,  Jesse  Smith; 
that  the  stubborn  and  unyielding  tree  was  like  Jesse ; 
that  the  other,  more  pliant  and  flexible,  was  like 
Joseph,  my  husband;  that  the  breath  of  heaven, 
which  passed  over  them,  was  the  pure  and  undefiled 
gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  which  gospel  Jesse  would 
always  resist,  but  which  Joseph,  when  he  was  more 
advanced  in  life  would  hear  and  receive  with  his 
whole  heart,  and  rejoice  therein;  and  unto  him 
would  be  added  intelligence,  happiness,  glory,  and 
everlasting  life. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


53 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

FIRST  VISION  OF  JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR — THE  BOX 
— SECOND  VISION — THE  TREE  AND  THE  SPACIOUS 
BUILDING. 

After  selling  the  farm  at  Tunbridge,  we  moved 
only  a  short  distance,  to  the  town  of  Royalton.  Here 
we  resided  a  few  months,  then  moved  again  to 
Sharon,  Windsor  County,  Vermont.  In  the  latter 
place,  my  husband  rented  a  farm  of  my  father, 
which  he  cultivated  in  the  summer,  teaching  school 
in  the  winter.  In  this  way  my  husband  continued 
laboring  for  a  few  years,  during  which  time  our 
circumstances  gradually  improved,  until  we  found 
ourselves  quite  comfortable  again. 

In  the  meantime  we  had  a  son,  whom  we  called 
Joseph,  after  the  name  of  his  father;  he  was  born 
December  23,  1805.  I  shall  speak  of  him  more  par- 
ticularly by  and  by. 

We  moved  thence  to  Tunbridge.  Here  we  had 
another  son,  whom  we  named  Samuel  Harrison,  born 
March  13,  1808.  We  lived  in  this  place  a  short  time, 
then  moved  to  Royalton,  where  Ephraim  was  bom, 
March  13,  1810.  We  continued  here  until  we  had 
another  son,  born  March  13^  1811,  whom  we  called 
William. 

About  this  time  my  husband's  mind  became  much 
excited  upon  the  subject  of  religion;  yet  he  would 
not  subscribe  to  any  particular  system  of  faith,  but 
contended  for  the  ancient  order,  as  established  by 


54  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  apostles. 

One  night  my  husband  retired  to  his  bed,  in  a  very 
thoughtful  state  of  mind,  contemplating  the  situa- 
tion of  the  Christian  religion,  or  the  confusion  and 
discord  that  were  extant.  He  soon  fell  into  a  sleep, 
and  before  waking  had  the  following  vision,  which 
I  shall  relate  in  his  own  words,  just  as  he  told  it  to 
me  the  next  morning: 

"I  seemed  to  be  traveling  in  an  open,  barren  field, 
and  as  I  was  traveling,  I  turned  my  eyes  towards  the 
east,  the  west,  the  north,  and  the  south,  but  could  see 
nothing  save  dead,  fallen  timber.  Not  a  vestige  of 
life,  either  animal  or  vegetable,  could  be  seen; 
besides,  to  render  the  scene  still  more  dreary,  the 
most  deathlike  silence  prevailed;  no  sound  of  any- 
thing animate  could  be  heard  in  all  the  field.  I  was 
alone  in  this  gloomy  desert,  with  the  exception  of  an 
attendant  spirit,  who  kept  constantly  by  my  side. 
Of  him  I  inquired  the  meaning  of  what  I  saw,  and 
why  I  was  thus  traveling  in  such  a  dismal  place. 
He  answered  thus:  'This  field  is  the  world,  which 
now  lieth  inanimate  and  dumb,  in  regard  to  the  true 
religion,  or  plan  of  salvation ;  but  travel  on,  and  by 
the  wayside  you  will  find  on  a  certain  log  a  box,  the 
contents  of  which,  if  you  eat  thereof,  will  make  you 
wise,  and  give  unto  you  wisdom  and  understanding.' 
I  carefully  observed  what  was  told  me  by  my  guide, 
and  proceeding  a  short  distance,  I  came  to  the  box. 
I  immediately  took  it  up,  and  placed  it  under  my  left 
arm ;  then  with  eagerness  I  raised  the  lid,  and  began 
to  taste  of  its  contents;  upon  which  all  manner  of 
beasts,  homed  cattle,  and  roaring  animals,  rose  up 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


55 


on  every  side  in  the  most  threatening  manner  possi- 
ble, tearing  the  earth,  tossing  their  horns,  and  bel- 
lowing most  terrifically  all  around  me,  and  they 
finally  came  so  close  upon  me,  that  I  was  compelled 
to  drop  the  box,  and  fly  for  my  life.  Yet,  in  the 
midst  of  all  this  I  was  perfectly  happy,  though  I 
awoke  trembling." 

From  this  forward  my  husband  seemed  more  con- 
firmed than  ever  in  the  opinion  that  there  was  no 
order  or  class  of  religionists  that  knew  any  more  con- 
cerning the  kingdom  of  God,  than  those  of  the  world, 
or  such  as  made  no  profession  of  religion  whatever. 

In  1811,  we  moved  from  Royalton,  Vermont,  to 
the  town  of  Lebanon,  New  Hampshire.  Soon  after 
arriving  here,  my  husband  received  another  very 
singular  vision,  which  I  will  relate : 

"I  thought,"  said  he,  "I  was  traveling  in  an  open, 
desolate  field,  which  appeared  to  be  very  barren. 
As  1  was  thus  traveling,  the  thought  suddenly  came 
into  my  mind  that  I  had  better  stop  and  reflect  upon 
what  I  was  doing,  before  I  went  any  further.  So  I 
asked  myself,  'What  motive  can  I  have  in  traveling 
here,  and  what  place  can  this  be?'  My  guide,  who 
was  by  my  side,  as  before,  said,  'This  is  the  desolate 
world;  but  travel  on.'  The  road  was  so  broad  and 
barren  that  I  wondered  why  I  should  travel  in  it; 
for,  said  I  to  myself,  'Broad  is  the  road,  and  wide  is 
the  gate  that  leads  to  death,  and  many  there  be  that 
walk  therein;  but  narrow  is  the  way,  and  straight 
is  the  gate  that  leads  to  everlasting  life,  and  I'ew 
there  be  that  go  in  thereat.'  Traveling  a  short  dis- 
tance farther,  I  came  to  a  narrow  path.    This  path 


56  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

I  entered,  and,  when  I  had  traveled  a  little  way  in  it, 
I  beheld  a  beautiful  stream  of  water,  which  ran  from 
the  east  to  the  west.  Of  this  stream  I  could  see 
neither  the  source  nor  yet  the  termination;  but  as 
far  as  my  eyes  could  extend  I  could  see  a  rope  run- 
ning along  the  bank  of  it,  about  as  high  as  a  man 
could  reach,  and  beyond  me  was  a  low,  but  very  pleas- 
ant valley,  in  which  stood  a  tree  such  as  I  had  never 
seen  before.  It  was  exceedingly  handsome,  insomuch 
that  I  looked  upon  it  with  wonder  and  admiration. 
Its  beautiful  branches  spread  themselves  somewhat 
like  an  umbrella,  and  it  bore  a  kind  of  fruit,  in  shape 
much  like  a  chestnut  bur,  and  as  white  as  snow,  or, 
if  possible  whiter.  I  gazed  upon  the  same  with  con- 
siderable interest,  and  as  I  was  doing  so  the  burs  or 
shells  commenced  opening  and  shedding  their  par- 
ticles, or  the  fruit  which  they  contained,  which  was 
of  dazzling  whiteness.  I  drew  near  and  began  to 
eat  of  it,  and  I  found  it  delicious  beyond  description. 
As  I  was  eating,  I  said  in  my  heart,  *I  can  not  eat 
this  alone,  I  must  bring  my  wife  and  children,  that 
they  may  partake  with  me.'  Accordingly,  I  went 
and  brought  my  family,  which  consisted  of  a  wife 
and  seven  children,  and  we  all  commenced  eating, 
and  praising  God  for  this  blessing.  We  were  exceed- 
ingly happy,  insomuch  that  our  joy  could  not  easily 
be  expressed.  While  thus  engaged,  I  beheld  a  spa- 
cious building  standing  opposite  the  valley  which  we 
were  in,  and  it  appeared  to  reach  to  the  very 
heavens.  It  was  full  of  doors  and  windows,  and 
they  were  filled  with  people,  who  were  very  finely 
dressed.    When  these  people  observed  us  in  the  low 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


57 


valley,  under  the  tree,  they  pointed  the  finger  of 
scorn  at  us,  and  treated  us  with  all  manner  of  dis- 
respect and  contempt.  But  their  contumely  we 
utterly  disregarded.  I  presently  turned  to  my  guide, 
and  inquired  of  him  the  meaning  of  the  fruit  that 
was  so  delicious.  He  told  me  it  was  the  pure  love 
of  God,  shed  abroad  in  the  hearts  of  all  those  who 
love  him,  and  keep  his  commandments.  He  then 
commanded  me  to  go  and  bring  the  rest  of  my 
children.  I  told  him  that  we  were  all  there.  'No,' 
he  replied,  'look  yonder,  you  have  two  more,  and  you 
must  bring  them  also.'  Upon  raising  my  eyes,  I  saw 
two  small  children,  standing  some  distance  off.  I 
immediately  went  to  them,  and  brought  them  to  the 
tree;  upon  which  they  commenced  eating  with  the 
rest,  and  we  all  rejoiced  together.  The  more  we 
ate,  the  more  we  seemed  to  desire,  until  we  even  got 
dow^n  upon  our  knees,  and  scooped  it  up,  eating  it  by 
double  handfuls.  After  feasting  in  this  manner  a 
short  time,  I  asked  my  guide  what  was  the  meaning 
of  the  spacious  building  which  I  saw.  He  replied, 
'It  is  Babylon,  it  is  Babylon,  and  it  must  fall.  The 
people  in  the  doors  and  windows  are  the  inhabitants 
thereof,  who  scorn  and  despise  the  Saints  of  God 
because  of  their  humility.'  I  soon  awoke,  clapping 
my  hands  together  for  joy." 


58 


JOSEPH  SMITH  THj:  PROPHET. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SICKNESS    AT    LEBANON — SOPHRONIA'S  MIRACULOUS 
RECOVERY. 

V\'e  moved,  as  befoire  mentioned,  to  the  town  of 
Lebanon,  New  Hampshire.  Here  we  settled  our- 
selves down,  and  began  to  contemplate,  with  joy  and 
satisfaction,  the  prosperity  which  had  attended  our 
recent  exertions;  and  we  doubled  our  diligence,  in 
order  to  obtain  more  of  this  world's  goods  with  the 
view  of  assisting  our  children,  when  they  should 
need  it;  and,  as  is  quite  natural,  we  looked  forward 
to  the  decline  of  life,  and  were  providing  for  its 
wants,  as  well  as  striving  to  procure  those  things 
which  contribute  much  to  the  comfort  of  old  age. 

As  our  children  had,  in  a  great  measure,  been 
debarred  from  the  privilege  of  schools,  we  began  to 
make  every  arrangement  to  attend  to  this  important 
duty.  We  established  our  second  son  Hyrum  in  an 
academy  at  Hanover;  and  the  rest,  that  were  of 
sufficient  age,  we  were  sending  to  a  common  school 
that  was  quite  convenient.  Meanwhile,  myself  and 
companion  were  doing  all  that  our  abilities  would 
admit  of  for  the  future  welfare  and  advantage  of  the 
family,  and  were  greatly  blessed  in  our  labors. 

But  this  state  of  things  did  not  long  continue. 
The  typhus  fever  came  into  Lebanon,  and  raged 
tremendously.  Among  the  number  seized  with  this 
complaint  were,  first,  Sophronia;  next  Hyrum,  who 
was  taken  while  at  school,  and  came  home  sick ;  then 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS  o9 

Alvin;  in  short,  one  after  another  was  taken  down, 
till  all  of  the  family,  with  the  exception  of  myself 
and  husband,  were  prostrated  upon  a  bed  of  sick- 
ness. 

Sophronia  had  a  heavy  siege.  The  physician 
attended  upon  her  eighty-nine  days,  giving  her 
medicine  all  the  while;  but  on  the  ninetieth  day,  he 
said  she  was  so  far  gone,  it  was  not  for  her  to  receive 
any  benefit  from  medicine,  and  for  this  cause  he 
discontinued  his  attendance  upon  her.  The  ensuing 
night,  she  lay  altogether  motionless,  with  her  eyes 
wide  open,  and  with  that  peculiar  aspect  which  be- 
speaks the  near  approach  of  death.  As  she  thus  lay, 
I  gazed  upon  her  as  a  mother  looks  upon  the  last 
shade  of  life  in  a  darling  child.  In  this  moment  of 
distraction,  my  husband  and  myself  clasped  our 
hands,  fell  upon  our  knees  by  the  bedside,  and  poured 
out  our  grief  to  God,  in  prayer  and  supplication,  be- 
seeching him  to  spare  our  child  yet  a  little  longer. 

Did  the  Lord  hear  our  petition?  Yes,  he  most 
assuredly  did,  and  before  we  rose  to  our  feet,  he 
gave  us  a  testimony  that  she  should  recover.  When 
we  first  arose  from  prayer,  our  child  had,  to  all 
appearance,  ceased  breathing.  I  caught  a  blanket, 
threw  it  around  her,  then,  taking  her  in  my  arms, 
commenced  pacing  the  floor.  Those  present  remon- 
strated against  my  doing  as  I  did,  saying,  "Mrs. 
Smith,  it  is  all  of  no  use;  you  are  certainly  crazy, 
your  child  is  dead.'  Notwithstanding,  I  would  not, 
for  a  moment,  relinquish  the  hope  of  again  seeing 
her  breathe  and  live. 

This  recital,  doubtless,  will  be  uninteresting  to 


60  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

some;  but  those  who  nave  experienced  in  life  some- 
thing of  this  kind  are  susceptible  of  feeling,  and  can 
sympathize  with  me.  Are  you  a  mother  who  has 
been  bereft  of  a  child?  Feel  for  your  heartstrings, 
and  then  tell  me  how  I  felt  with  my  expiring  child 
pressed  to  my  bosom !  Would  you  at  this  trying 
moment  feel  to  deny  that  God  had  "power  to  save 
to  the  uttermost  all  who  call  on  him?"  I  did  not 
then;  neither  do  I  now. 

At  length  she  sobbed.  I  still  pressed  her  to  my 
breast,  and  continued  to  walk  the  floor.  She  sobbed 
again,  then  looked  up  into  my  face,  and  commenced 
breathing  quite  freely.  My  soul  was  satisfied,  but 
my  strength  was  gone.  I  laid  my  daughter  on  the 
bed,  and  sunk  by  her  side,  completely  overpowered 
by  the  intensity  of  my  feelings. 

From  this  time  forward  Sophronia  continued 
mending,  until  she  entirely  recovered. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


61 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  JOSEPH  SMITH,  JUNIOR,  WITH  A 
FEVER  SORE — EXTRACTION  OF  LARGE  FRAGMENTS 
OF  BONE  FROM  ONE  OF  HIS  LEGS. 

Joseph,  our  third  son,  having  recovered  from  the 
typhus  fever  after  something  like  two  weeks'  sick- 
ness, one  day  screamed  out  while  sitting  in  a  chair, 
with  a  pain  in  his  shoulder,  and,  in  a  very  short  time, 
he  appeared  to  be  in  such  agony  that  we  feared  the 
consequence  would  prove  to  be  something  very 
serious.  We  immediately  sent  for  a  doctor.  When 
he  arrived,  and  had  examined  the  patient,  he  said 
that  it  was  his  opinion  that  this  pain  was  occasioned 
by  a  sprain.  But  the  child  declared  this  could  not 
be  the  he  had  received  no  injury  in  any 

way  whatever,  but  that  a  severe  pain  had  seized  him 
all  at  once,  of  the  cause  of  which  he  was  entirely 
ignorant. 

Notwithstanding  the  child's  protestations,  still 
the  physician  insisted  that  it  must  be  a  sprain,  and 
consequently,  he  anointed  his  shoulder  with  some 
bone  liniment;  but  this  was  of  no  advantage  to  him, 
for  the  pain  continued  the  same  after  the  anointing 
as  before. 

When  two  weeks  of  extreme  suffering  had  elapsed, 
the  attendant  physician  concluded  to  make  closer 
examination,  whereupon  he  found  that  a  large  fever 
sore  had  gathered  between  his  breast  and  shoulder. 
He  immediately  lanced  it,  upon  which  it  discharged 
fully  a  quart  of  purulent  matter. 


62  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

As  soon  as  the  sore  had  discharged  itself,  the  pain 
left  it,  and  shot  like  lightning  (using  his  own  terms) 
down  his  side  into  the  marrow  of  the  bone  of  his 
leg,  and  soon  became  very  severe.  My  poor  boy,  at 
this,  was  almost  in  despair,  and  he  cried  out,  "Oh, 
father!  the  pain  is  so  severe,  how  can  I  bear  it!" 

His  leg  soon  began  to  swell,  and  he  continued  to 
suffer  the  greatest  agony  for  the  space  of  two  weeks 
longer.  During  this  period  I  carried  him  much  of 
the  time  in  my  arms,  in  order  to  mitigate  his  suffer- 
ing as  much  as  possible,  in  consequence  of  which  I 
was  taken  very  ill  myself.  The  anxiety  of  mind 
that  I  experienced,  together  with  physical  over-exer- 
tion, was  too  much  for  my  constitution,  and  my 
nature  sunk  under  it. 

Hyrum,  who  was  rather  remarkable  for  his  ten- 
derness and  sympathy,  now  desired  that  he  might 
take  my  place.  As  he  was  a  good,  trusty  boy,  we  let 
him  do  so;  and,  in  order  to  make  the  task  as  easy 
for  him  as  possible,  we  laid  Joseph  upon  a  low  bed, 
and  Hyrum  sat  beside  him,  almost  day  and  night,  for 
some  considerable  length  of  time,  holding  the 
affected  part  of  his  leg  in  his  hands,  and  pressing  it 
between  them,  so  that  his  afflicted  brother  might  be 
enabled  to  endure  the  pain,  which  was  so  excruci- 
ating that  he  was  scarcely  able  to  bear  it. 

At  the  end  of  three  weeks  we  thought  it  advisable 
to  send  again  for  the  surgeon.  When  he  came,  he 
made  an  incision  of  eight  inches,  on  the  front  side 
of  the  leg,  between  the  knee  and  ankle.  This  re- 
lieved the  pain  in  a  great  measure,  and  the  patient 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


63 


was  quite  comfortable  until  the  wound  began  to 
heal,  when  the  pain  became  as  violent  as  ever. 

The  surgeon  was  called  again,  and  he  this  time 
enlarged  the  wound,  cutting  the  leg  even  to  the  bone. 
It  commenced  healing  the  second  time,  and  as  soon 
as  it  began  to  heal,  it  also  began  to  swell  again, 
•  hic.i  swelling  continued  to  rise  till  we  deemed  it 
wisdom  to  call  a  council  of  surgeons ;  and  when  they 
met  in  consultation,  they  decided  that  amputation 
was  the  only  remedy. 

Soon  after  coming  to  this  conclusion,  they  rode  up 
to  the  door,  and  were  invited  into  a  room,  apart 
from  the  one  in  which  Joseph  lay.  They  being 
seated,  I  addressed  them  thus:  "Gentlemen,  what 
can  you  do  to  save  my  boy's  leg?"  They  answered, 
"We  can  do  nothing;  we  have  cut  it  open  to  the  bone, 
and  find  it  so  affected  that  we  consider  the  leg  in- 
curable, and  that  amputation  is  absolutely  necessary 
in  order  to  save  his  life." 

This  was  like  a  thunderbolt  to  me.  I  appealed  to 
the  principal  surgeon,  saying,  "Doctor  Stone,  can 
you  not  make  another  trial?  Can  you  not,  by  cut- 
ting around  the  bone,  take  out  the  diseased  part, 
and  perhaps  that  which  is  sound  will  heal  over,  and 
by  this  means  you  will  save  his  leg?  You  will  not, 
you  must  not,  take  off  his  leg,  until  you  try  once 
more.  I  will  not  consent  to  let  you  enter  his  room 
until  you  make  me  this  promise." 

After  consulting  a  short  time  with  each  other,  they 
agreed  to  do  as  I  had  requested,  then  went  to  see  my 
suffering  son.  One  of  the  doctors,  on  approaching 
his  bed,  said,  "My  poor  boy,  we  have  come  again." 


64  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


"Yes,"  said  Joseph,  "I  see  you  have;  but  you  have 
not  come  to  take  off  my  leg,  have  you,  sir?"  "No," 
replied  the  surgeon,  "it  is  your  mother's  request  that 
we  make  one  more  effort,  and  that  is  v^^hat  we  have 
now  come  for." 

The  principal  surgeon,  after  a  moment's  conversa- 
tion, ordered  cords  to  be  brought  to  bind  Joseph  fast 
to  a  bedstead ;  but  to  this  Joseph  objected.  The  doc- 
tor, however,  insisted  that  he  must  be  confined,  upon 
which  Joseph  said  very  decidedly,  "No,  doctor,  I  will 
not  be  bound,  for  I  can  bear  the  operation  much 
better  if  I  have  my  liberty,"  "Then,"  said  Doctor 
Stone,  "will  you  drink  some  brandy?" 

"No,"  said  Joseph,  "not  one  drop." 

"Will  you  take  some  wine?"  continued  the  doctor. 
"You  must  take  something,  or  you  can  never  endure 
the  severe  operation  to  which  you  must  be  sub- 
jected." 

"No,"  exclaimed  Joseph,  "I  will  not  touch  one  par- 
ticle of  liquor,  neither  will  I  be  tied  down ;  but  I  will 
tell  you  what  I  will  do — I  will  have  my  father  sit  on 
the  bed  and  hold  me  in  his  arms,  and  then  I  will  do 
whatever  is  necessary  in  order  to  have  the  bone 
taken  out."  Looking  at  me,  he  said,  "Mother,  I  want 
you  to  leave  the  room,  for  I  know  you  can  not  bear 
to  see  me  suffer  so;  father  can  stand  it,  but  you 
have  carried  me  so  much,  and  watched  over  me  so 
long,  you  are  almost  worn  out."  Then  looking  up 
into  my  face,  his  eyes  swimming  in  tears,  he  con- 
tinued, "Now,  mother,  promise  me  that  you  will  not 
stay,  will  you?  The  Lord  will  help  me,  and  I  shall 
get  through  with  it." 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


65 


To  this  request  I  consented,  and  getting  a  number 
of  folded  sheets,  and  laying  them  under  his  leg  I 
retired,  going  several  hundred  yards  from  the  house 
in  order  to  be  out  of  hearing. 

The  surgeons  commenced  operating  by  boring  into 
the  bone  of  his  leg,  first  on  one  side  of  the  bone 
where  it  was  affected,  then  on  the  other  side,  after 
which  they  broke  it  off  with  a  pair  of  forceps  or 
pinchers.  They  thus  took  away  large  pieces  of  the 
bone.  When  they  broke  off  the  first  piece,  Joseph 
screamed  out  so  loudly  that  I  could  not  forbear  run- 
ning to  him.  On  my  entering  his  room,  he  cried 
out,  "Oh,  mother,  go  back,  go  back;  I  do  not  want 
you  to  come  in — I  will  try  to  tough  it  out,  if  you  will 
go  away." 

When  the  third  piece  was  taken  away,  I  burst  into 
the  room  again — and  oh,  my  God!  what  a  spectacle 
for  a  mother's  eye !  The  wound  torn  open,  the  blood 
still  gushing  from  it,  and  the  bed  literally  covered 
with  blood,  Joseph  was  as  pale  as  a  corpse,  and 
large  drops  of  sweat  were  rolling  down  his  face, 
whilst  upon  every  feature  was  depicted  the  utmost 
agony ! 

I  was  immediately  forced  from  the  room,  and  de- 
tained until  the  operation  was  completed;  but  when 
the  act  was  accomplished,  Joseph  put  upon  a  clean 
bed,  the  room  cleared  of  every  appearance  of  blood, 
and  the  instruments  which  were  used  in  the  opera- 
tion removed,  I  was  permitted  again  to  enter. 

Joseph  immediately  commenced  getting  better, 
and  from  this  time  onward  continued  to  mend  until 
he  became  strong  and  healthy.    When  he  had  so  far 


Cu  JOSEPH   SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


recovered  as  to  be  able  to  travel,  he  went  with  his 
uncle,  Jesse  Smith,  to  Salem,  Massachusetts,  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health,  hoping  the  sea-breezes  would  be 
of  service  to  him;  and  in  this  he  was  not  disap- 
pointed. 

Having  passed  through  about  a  year  of  sickness 
and  distress,  health  again  returned  to  our  family, 
and  we  most  assuredly  appreciated  the  blessing ;  and 
indeed,  we  felt  to  acknowledge  the  hand  of  God, 
more  in  preserving  our  lives  through  such  a  tremen- 
dous scene  of  affliction,  than  if  we  had,  during  this 
time,  seen  nothing  but  health  and  prosperity. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR,  REMOVES  TO  NORWICH, 
THENCE  TO  PALMYRA — HIS  DREAM  OF  THE 
IMAGES — OF  THE  JUDGMENT. 

When  health  returned  to  us,  as  one  would  natu- 
rally suppose,  it  found  us  in  quite  low  circumstances. 
We  were  compelled  to  strain  every  energy  to  provide 
for  our  present  necessities,  instead  of  making 
arrangements  for  the  future,  as  we  had  previously 
contempla|;ed. 

Shortly  after  sickness  left  our  family,  we  moved 
to  Nonvich,  in  the  state  of  Vermont.  In  this  place 
we  established  ourselves  on  a  farm  belonging  to  one 
Esquire  Moredock.  The  first  year  our  crops  failed ; 
yet,  by  selling  fruit  which  grew  on  the  place,  we 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS  67 

succeeded  in  obtaining  bread  for  the  family,  and  by 
making  considerable  exertion,  we  were  enabled  to 
sustain  ourselves. 

The  crops  the  second  year  were  as  the  year  before 
— a  perfect  failure.  Mr.  Smith  now  determined  to 
plant  once  more,  and  if  he  should  meet  with  no 
better  success  than  he  had  the  two  preceding  years, 
he  would  then  go  to  the  state  of  New  York,  where 
wheat  was  raised  in  abundance. 

The  next  year  an  untimely  frost  destroyed  the 
crops,  and  being  the  third  year  in  succession  in 
which  the  crops  had  failed,  it  almost  caused  a 
famine.  This  was  enough;  my  husband  was  now 
altogether  decided  upon  going  to  New  York.  He 
came  in,  one  day,  in  quite  a  thoughtful  mood,  and  sat 
down ;  after  meditating  some  time,  he  observed  that, 
could  he  so  arrange  his  affairs,  he  would  be  glad  to 
start  soon  for  New  York  with  a  Mr.  Howard,  who 
was  going  to  Palmyra.  He  further  remarked,  that 
he  could  not  leave  consistently,  as  the  situation  of 
the  family  would  not  admit  of  his  absence;  besides, 
he  was  owing  some  money  that  must  first  be  paid. 

I  told  him  it  was  my  opinion  that  he  might  get 
both  his  creditors  and  debtors  together,  and  arrange 
matters  between  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  satis- 
faction to  all  parties  concerned;  and,  in  relation  to 
the  family,  I  thought  I  could  make  every  necessary 
preparation  to  follow  as  soon  as  he  would  be  ready 
for  us.  He  accordingly  called  upon  all  with  whom 
he  had  any  dealings,  and  settled  up  his  accounts 
with  them.  There  were,  however,  some  who,  in  the 
time  of  settlement,  neglected  to  bring  forward  their 


68  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

books,  consequently  they  were  not  balanced,  or  there 
were  no  entries  made  in  them  to  show  the  settle- 
ment; but  in  cases  of  this  kind  he  called  witnesses, 
that  there  might  be  evidence  of  the  fact. 

Having  thus  arranged  his  business,  Mr.  Smith  set 
out  for  Palmyra,  in  company  with  Mr.  Howard. 
After  his  departure,  I  and  those  of  the  family  who 
were  of  much  size,  toiled  faithfully,  until  we  con- 
sidered ourselves  fully  prepared  to  leave  at  a 
moment's  warning.  We  shortly  received  a  com- 
munication from  Mr.  Smith,  requesting  us  to  make 
ourselves  ready  to  take  up  a  journey  for  Palmyra. 
In  a  short  time  after  this,  a  team  came  for  us.  As 
we  were  about  starting  on  this  journey,  several  of 
those  gentlemen  who  had  withheld  their  books  in 
the  time  of  settlement  now  brought  them  forth,  and 
claimed  the  accounts  which  had  been  settled,  and 
which  they  had,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  agreed 
to  erase.  We  were  all  ready  for  the  journey,  and  the 
teams  were  waiting  on  expense.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances I  concluded  it  would  be  more  to  our 
advantage  to  pay  their  unjust  claims  than  to  hazard 
a  lawsuit.  Therefore,  by  making  considerable 
exertion,  I  raised  the  required  sum,  which  was  one 
nundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  liquidated  the  demand. 

A  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Flog,  a  wealthy 
settler,  living  in  the  town  of  Hanover,  also  a  Mr. 
Howard,  who  resided  in  Norwich,  were  both  ac- 
quainted with  the  circumstance  mentioned  above. 
They  were  very  indignant  at  it  and  requested  me  to 
give  them  a  sufficient  time  to  get  the  witnesses 
together,  and  they  would  endeavor  to  recover  that 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


69 


which  had  been  taken  from  me  by  fraud.  I  told 
them  I  could  not  do  so,  for  my  husband  had  sent 
teams  for  me,  which  were  on  expense;  moreover, 
there  was  an  uncertainty  in  getting  the  money  back 
again,  and  in  case  of  failure,  I  should  not  be  able  to 
raise  the  means  necessary  to  take  the  family  where 
we  contemplated  moving. 

They  then  proposed  raising  some  money  by  sub- 
scription, saying,  "We  know  the  people  feel  as  we 
ao  concerning  this  matter,  and  if  you  will  receive  it 
we  will  make  you  a  handsome  present."  This  I 
utterly  refused.  The  idea  of  receiving  assistance  in 
such  a  way  as  this  was  indeed  very  repulsive  to  my 
feelings,  and  I  rejected  their  offer. 

My  aged  mother,  who  had  lived  with  us  some  time, 
assisted  in  preparing  for  the  journey.  She  came 
with  us  to  Royalton,  where  she  resided  until  she 
died,  which  was  two  years  afterwards,  in  conse- 
quence of  an  injury  which  she  received  by  getting 
upset  in  a  wagon  while  traveling  with  us. 

On  arriving  at  Royalton,  I  had  a  scene  to  pass 
through,  and  it  was  truly  a  severe  one — oxie  to  which 
I  shall  ever  look  back  with  peculiar  feelings.  Here 
I  was  to  take  leave  of  my  affectionate  mother.  The 
parting  hour  came;  my  mother  wept  over  me,  long 
and  bitterly.  She  told  me  that  it  was  not  probable 
that  she  should  ever  behold  my  face  again;  "But, 
my  dear  child,"  said  she,  "I  have  lived  long — my 
days  are  nearly  numbered — I  must  soon  exchange 
the  things  of  this  world  for  those  which  pertain  to 
another  state  of  existence,  where  I  hope  to  enjoy 
the  society  of  the  blessed!  and  now,  as   my  last 


70  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

admonition,  I  beseech  you  to  continue  faithful  in 
the  service  of  God  to  the  end  of  your  days,  that  I 
may  have  the  pleasure  of  embracing  you  in  another 
and  fairer  world  above." 

This  parting  scene  was  at  one  Willard  Pierce's, 
a  tavern-keeper.  From  his  house  my  mother  went 
to  Daniel  Mack's  with  whom  she  afterwards  lived 
until  her  decease. 

Having  traveled  a  short  distance,  I  discovered 
that  Mr.  Howard,  our  teamster,  was  an  unprincipled 
and  unfeeling  wretch,  by  the  way  in  which  he 
handled  both  our  goods  and  money,  as  well  as  by 
his  treatment  of  my  children,  especially  Joseph.  He 
would  compel  him  to  travel  miles  at  a  time  on'  foot, 
notwithstanding  he  was  still  lame.  We  bore  patiently 
with  his  abuse  until  we  got  about  twenty  miles 
west  of  Utica,  when  one  morning,  as  we  were  getting 
ready  to  continue  our  journey,  my  oldest  son  came 
to  me  and  said,  "Mother,  Mr.  Howard  has  thrown 
the  goods  out  of  the  wagon,  and  is  about  starting  off 
with  the  team."  Upon  hearing  this,  I  told  him  to 
call  the  man  in.  I  met  him  in  the  barroom,  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  company  of  travelers,  both  male 
and  female,  and  I  demanded  his  reason  for  the 
course  which  he  was  taking.  He  told  me  the  money 
which  I  had  given  him  was  all  expended,  and  he 
could  go  no  further. 

I  then  turned  to  those  present  and  said,  "Gentle- 
men and  ladies,  please  give  your  attention  for  a 
moment.  Now,  as  sure  as  there  is  a  God  in  heaven, 
that  team,  as  well  as  the  goods,  belong  to  my  hus- 
band, and  this  man  intends  to  take4;hem  from  me,  or 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


71 


at  least  the  team,  leaving  me  with  eight  children, 
vvitnout  the  means  of  proceeding  on  my  journey." 
Then  turning  to  Mr.  Howard,  I  said,  "Sir,  I  now 
forbid  you  touching  the  team,  or  driving  it  one  step 
further.  You  can  go  about  your  own  business;  I 
have  no  use  for  you.  I  shall  take  charge  of  the 
team  myself,  and  hereafter  attend  to  my  own 
affairs."  I  accordingly  did  so,  and,  proceeding  on 
our  journey,  we  in  a  short  time  arrived  at  Palmyra, 
with  a  small  portion  of  our  effects,  and  barely  two 
cents  in  cash. 

When  I  again  met  my  husband  at  Palmyra,  we 
were  much  reduced — not  from  indolence,  but  on  ac- 
count of  many  reverses  of  fortune,  with  which  our 
lives  had  been  rather  singularly  marked.  Notwith- 
standing our  misfortunes,  and  the  embarrassments 
with  which  we  were  surrounded,  I  was  quite  happy 
in  once  more  having  the  society  of  my  husband,  and 
in  throwing  myself  and  children  upon  the  care  and 
affection  of  a  tender  companion  and  father. 

We  all  now  sat  down,  and  counseled  together  rela- 
tive to  the  course  which  was  best  for  us  to  adopt  in 
our  destitute  circumstances,  and  we  came  to  the  con- 
clusion to  unite  our  strength  in  endeavoring  to 
obtain  a  piece  of  land.  Having  done  considerable 
at  painting  oilcloth  coverings  for  tables,  stands,  etc., 
I  set  up  the  business,  and  did  extremely  well.  I  fur- 
nished all  the  provisions  for  the  family,  and,  besides 
this,  began  to  replenish  our  household  furniture,  in 
a  very  short  time,  by  my  own  exertions. 

My  husband  and  his  sons,  Alvin  and  Hyrum,  set 
themselves  to  work  to  pay  for  one  hundred  acres  of 


72  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

land,  which  Mr.  Smith  contracted  for  with  a  land 
agent.  In  a  year,  we  made  nearly  all  of  the  first 
payment,  erected  a  log  house,  and  commenced  clear- 
ing. I  believe  something  like  thirty  acres  of  land 
were  got  ready  for  cultivation  the  first  year. 

I  shall  now  deviate  a  little  from  my  subject,  in 
order  to  relate  another  very  singular  dream  which 
my  husband  had  about  this  time,  being  as  follows : 

"I  dreamed,"  said  he,  "that  I  was  traveling  on 
foot,  and  I  was  very  sick,  and  so  lame  I  could  hardly 
walk.  My  guide,  as  usual,  attended  me.  Traveling 
some  time  together,  I  became  so  lame  that  I  thought 
I  could  go  no  further.  I  informed  my  guide  of  this, 
and  asked  him  what  I  should  do.  He  told  me  to 
travel  on  till  I  came  to  a  certain  garden.  So  I  arose 
and  started  for  this  garden.  While  on  my  way 
thither,  I  asked  my  guide  how  I  should  know  the 
place.  He  said,  'Proceed  until  you  come  to  a  very 
large  gate;  open  this,  and  you  will  see  a  garden, 
blooming  with  the  most  beautiful  flowers  that  your 
eyes  ever  beheld,  and  there  you  shall  be  healed.'  By 
limping  along  with  great  difficulty,  I  finally  reached 
the  gate;  and  on  entering  it,  I  saw  the  before-men- 
tioned garden,  which  was  beautiful  beyond  descrip- 
tion, being  filled  with  the  most  delicate  flowers  of 
every  kind  and  color.  In  the  garden  were  walks 
about  three  and  a  half  feet  wide,  which  were  set  on 
both  sides  with  marble  stones.  One  of  the  walks 
ran  from  the  gate  through  the  center  of  the  garden ; 
and  on  each  side  of  this  was  a  very  richly-carved 
seat,  and  on  each  seat  were  placed  six  wooden 
images,  each  of  which  was  the  size  of  a  very  large 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


73 


man.  When  I  came  to  the  first  image  on  the  right 
side,  it  arose  and  bowed  to  me  with  much  deference. 
I  then  turned  to  the  one  which  sat  opposite  me,  on 
the  left  side,  and  it  arose  and  bowed  to  me  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  first.  I  continued  turning,  first 
to  the  right  and  then  to  the  left,  until  the  whole 
twelve  had  made  their  obeisance,  after  which  I  was 
entirely  healed.  I  then  asked  my  guide  the  meaning 
of  all  this,  but  I  awoke  before  I  received  an  answer." 

I  will  now  return  to  the  subject  of  the  farm. 
When  the  time  for  making  the  second  payment  drew 
nigh,  Alvin  went  from  home  to  get  work,  in  order 
to  raise  the  money,  and  after  much  hardship  and 
fatigue,  returned  with  the  required  amount.  This 
payment  being  made,  we  felt  relieved,  as  this  was 
the  only  thing  that  troubled  us;  for  we  had  a  snug 
log  house,  neatly  furnished,  and  the  means  of  living 
comfortably.  It  was  now  only  two  years  since  we 
entered  Palmyra,  almost  destitute  of  money,  prop- 
erty, or  acquaintance.  The  hand  of  friendship  was 
extended  on  every  side,  and  we  blessed  God,  with 
our  whole  hearts,  for  his  "mercy,  which  endureth  for 
ever."  And  not  only  temporal  blessings  were  be- 
stowed upon  us,  but  also  spiritual  were  administered. 
The  Scripture,  which  saith,  "Your  old  men  shall 
dream  dreams,"  was  fulfilled  in  the  case  of  my  hus- 
band, for,  about  this  time,  he  had  another  vision, 
which  I  shall  here  relate;  this,  with  one  more,  is 
all  of  his  that  I  shall  obtrude  upon  the  attention  of 
my  readers.  He  received  two  more  visions,  which 
would  probably  be  somewhat  interesting,  but  I  can 
not  remember  them  distinctly  enough  to  rehearse 


74  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

them  in  full.  The  following,  which  was  the  sixth, 
ran  thus: 

"I  thought  I  was  walking  alone;  I  was  much 
fatigued,  nevertheless  I  continued  traveling.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  I  was  going  to  meeting,  that  it 
was  the  day  of  judgment,  and  that  I  was  going  to 
be  judged. 

"When  I  came  in  sight  of  the  meeting-house,  I 
saw  multitudes  of  people  coming  from  every  direc- 
tion, and  pressing  with  great  anxiety  towards  the 
door  of  this  great  building;  but  I  thought  I  should 
get  there  in  time,  hence  there  was  no  need  of  being 
in  a  hurry.  But,  on  arriving  at  the  door,  I  found  it 
shut;  I  knocked  for  admission,  and  was  informed  by 
the  porter  that  I  had  come  too  late.  I  felt  exceed- 
ingly troubled,  and  prayed  earnestly  for  admittance. 
Presently  I  found  that  my  flesh  was  perishing.  I 
continued  to  pray,  still  my  flesh  withered  upon  my 
bones.  I  was  almost  in  a  state  of  total  despair, 
when  the  porter  asked  me  if  I  had  done  all  that  was 
necessary  in  order  to  receive  admission.  I  replied 
that  I  had  done  all  that  was  in  my  power  to  do. 
'Then,'  observed  the  porter,  'justice  must  be  satis- 
fied; after  this,  mercy  hath  her  claims.' 

"It  then  occurred  to  me  to  call  upon  God,  in  the 
name  of  his  son  Jesus ;  and  I  cried  out,  in  the  agony 
of  my  soul,  'Oh,  Lord  God,  I  beseech  thee,  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  forgive  my  sins.'  After 
which  I  felt  considerably  strengthened,  and  I  began 
to  amend.  The  porter  or  angel  then  remarked  that 
it  was  necessary  to  plead  the  merits  of  Jesus,  for  he 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


75 


was  the  advocate  with  the  Father,  and  a  mediator 
between  God  and  man. 

"I  was  now  made  quite  whole,  and  the  door  was 
opened,  but,  on  entering,  I  awoke." 

The  following  spring  we  commenced  making 
preparations  for  building  another  house,  one  that 
would  be  more  comfortable  for  persons  in  advanced 
life. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

HISTORY    OF    JOSEPH    THE    PROPHET    COMMENCES — 
SEVENTH  VISION  OF  JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR, 

I  now  come  to  the  history  of  Joseph.  By  refer- 
ence to  the  table  (chapter  ix) ,  you  will  find  the  date 
and  place  of  his  birth;  besides  which,  except  what 
has  already  been  '•aid,  I  shall  say  nothing  respect- 
ing him  until  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 
However,  in  this  I  am  aware  that  some  of  my  read- 
ers will  be  disappointed,  for  from  questions  which 
are  frequently  asked  me,  I  suppose  that  it  is  thought 
by  some  that  I  shall  be  likely  to  tell  many  very  re- 
markable incidents  which  attended  his  childhood; 
but,  as  nothing  occurred  during  his  early  life,  except 
those  trivial  circumstances  which  are  common  to 
that  state  of  human  existence,  I  pass  them  in  silence. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  an  incident  occurred  which 
alarmed  us  much,  as  we  knew  not  the  cause  of  it, 
Joseph  being  a  remarkably  quiet,  well  disposed 
child,  we  did  not  suspect  that  any  one  had  aught 


76  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

against  him.  He  was  out  one  evening  on  an  errand, 
and,  on  returning  home,  as  he  was  passing  through 
the  dooryard  a  gun  was  fired  across  his  pathway, 
with  the  evident  intention  of  shooting  him.  He 
sprang  to  the  door  much  frightened.  We  immedi- 
ately went  in  search  of  the  assassin  but  could  find  no 
trace  of  him  that  evening.  The  next  morning  we 
found  his  tracks  under  a  wagon,  where  he  lay  when 
he  fired;  and  the  following  day  we  found  the  balls 
which  were  discharged  from  the  gun,  lodged  in  the 
head  and  neck  of  a  cow  that  was  standing  opposite 
the  wagon,  in  a  dark  comer.  We  have  not  as  yet 
discovered  the  man  who  made  this  attempt  at  mur- 
der, neither  can  we  discover  the  cause  thereof. 

I  shall  here  insert  the  seventh  and  last  vision 
that  my  husband  had,  which  vision  was  received  in 
the  year  1819.    It  was  as  follows : 

"I  dreamed,"  said  he,  "that  a  man  with  a  peddler's 
budget  on  his  back,  came  in,  and  thus  addressed  me : 
'Sir,  will  you  trade  with  me  to-day?  I  have  now 
called  upon  you  seven  times,  I  have  traded  with  you 
each  time,  and  have  always  found  you  strictly  honest 
in  all  your  dealings.  Your  measures  are  always 
heaped,  and  your  weights  overbalance;  and  I  have 
now  come  to  tell  you  that  this  is  the  last  time  I  shall 
ever  call  on  you,  and  that  there  is  but  one  thing 
which  you  lack  in  order  to  secure  your  salvation.' 
As  i  earnestly  desired  to  know  what  it  was  that  I 
still  lacked  I  requested  him  to  write  the  same  upon 
paper.  He  said  that  he  would  do  so.  I  then  sprang 
to  get  some  paper,  but,  in  my  excitement,  I  awoke." 

Shortly  after  my  husband  received  the  foregoing 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


77 


vision  there  was  a  great  revival  in  religion,  which 
extended  to  all  the  denominations  of  Christians  in 
the  surrounding  country  w^here  we  resided.  Many 
of  the  world's  people  becoming  concerned  about  the 
salvation  of  their  souls  came  forward  and  presented 
themselves  as  seekers  after  religion.  Most  of  them 
were  desirous  of  uniting  with  some  church,  but  were 
not  decided  as  to  the  particular  faith  which  they 
would  adopt.  When  the  numerous  meetings  were 
about  breaking  up,  and  the  candidates  and  the  vari- 
ous leading  church  members  began  to  consult  upon 
the  subject  of  adopting  the  candidates  into  some 
church  or  churches,  as  the  case  might  be,  a  dispute 
arose,  and  there  was  a  great  contention  among  them. 

While  these  things  were  going  forward  Joseph's 
mind  became  considerably  troubled  with  regard  to 
religion.  Tihe  following  extract  from  his  history 
will  show,  more  clearly  than  I  can  express,  the  state 
of  his  feelings,  and  the  result  of  his  reflections  on 
this  occasion: 

"I  was  at  this  time  in  my  fifteenth  year.  My 
father's  family  was  proselyted  to  the  Presbyterian 
faith,  and  four  of  them  joined  that  church,  namely, 
my  mother  Lucy,  my  brothers  Hyrum  and  Samuel 
Harrison,  and  my  sister  Sophronia. 

"During  this  time  of  great  excitement  my  mind 
was  called  up  to  serious  reflection  and  great  uneasi- 
ness; but  though  my  feelings  were  deep,  and  often 
pungent,  still  I  kept  myself  aloof  from  all  those 
parties,  though  I  attended  their  several  meetings  as 
often  as  occasion  would  permit.  But  in  process  of 
time  my  mind  became   somewhat  partial  to  the 


78  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Methodist  sect,  and  I  felt  some  desire  to  be  united 
with  them,  but  so  great  was  the  confusion  and  strife 
among  the  different  denominations,  that  it  was 
impossible  for  a  person,  young  as  I  was,  and  so 
unacquainted  with  men  and  things,  to  come  to  any 
certain  conclusion  who 'was  right  and  who  was 
wrong.  My  mind  at  different  times  was  greatly 
excited,  the  cry  and  tumult  were  so  great  and  inces- 
sant. The  Presbjiierians  were  most  decided  against 
the  Baptists  and  Methodists,  and  used  all  their 
powers  of  either  reason  or  sophistry  to  prove  their 
errors,  or  at  least  to  make  the  people  think  they  were 
in  error.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Baptists  and 
Methodists,  in  their  turn,  were  equally  zealous  to 
establish  their  own  tenets  and  disprove  all  others. 

"In  the  midst  of  this  war  of  words,  and  tumult 
of  opinions,  I  often  said  to  myself,  What  is  to  be 
done?  Who  of  all  these  parties  are  right?  or,  are 
they  all  wrong  together?  If  any  one  of  them  be 
right,  which  is  it?  and  how  shall  I  know  it? 

"While  I  was  laboring  under  the  extreme  difficul- 
ties caused  by  the  contests  of  these  parties  of 
religionists,  I  was  one  day  reading  the  epistle  of 
James,  first  chapter  and  fifth  verse,  which  reads, 
'If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that 
giveth  unto  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not, 
and  it  shall  be  given  unto  him.'  Never  did  any  pass- 
age of  Scripture  come  with  more  power  to  the  heart 
of  man  than  this  did  at  this  time  to  mine.  It  seemed 
to  enter  with  great  force  into  every  feeling  of  my 
heart.  I  reflected  on  it  again  and  again,  knowing 
that  if  any  person  needed  wisdom  from  God,  I  did, 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS  79 

for  how  to  act  I  did  not  know,  and  unless  I  oould  get 
more  wisdom  than  I  then  had,  would  never  know; 
for  the  teachers  of  religion  of  the  different  sects 
understood  the  same  passage  so  differently,  as  to 
destroy  all  confidence  in  settling  the  question  by  an 
appeal  to  the  Bible.  At  length  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  I  must  either  remain  in  darkness  and 
confusion,  or  else  I  must  do  as  James  directs,  that 
is,  ask  of  God.  I  at  length  came  to  the  determina- 
tion to  ask  of  God,  concluding  that  if  he  gave  wis- 
dom to  them  that  lacked  wisdom,  and  would  give 
liberally,  and  not  upbraid,  I  might  venture.  So,  in 
accordance  with  this  my  determination  to  ask  of 
God,  I  retired  to  the  woods  to  make  the  attempt.  It 
was  on  the  morning  of  a  beautiful  clear  day,  early 
in  the  spring  of  1820.  It  was  the  first  time  in  my 
life  that  I  had  made  such  an  attempt;  for  amidst 
all  my  anxieties  I  had  never  as  yet  made  the  attempt 
to  pray  vocally.  After  I  had  retired  into  the  place 
where  I  had  previously  designed  to  go,  having  looked 
around  me,  and  finding  myself  alone,  I  kneeled  down 
and  began  to  offer  up  the  desires  of  my  heart 
to  God.  I  had  scarcely  done  so,  when  immediately 
I  was. seized  upon  by  some  power  which  entirely 
overcame  me,  and  had  such  astonishing  influence 
over  me  as  to  bind  my  tongue,  so  that  I  could  not 
speak.  Thick  darkness  gathered  around  me,  and 
it  seemed  to  me  for  a  time  as  if  I  were  doomed  to 
sudden  destruction.  But  exerting  all  my  powers  to 
call  upon  God,  to  deliver  me  out  of  the  power  of 
this  enemy  which  had  seized  upon  me,  and  at  the 
very  moment  when  I  was  ready  to  sink  into  despair, 


80  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

and  abandon  myself  to  destruction — not  to  an  imag- 
inary ruin,  but  to  the  power  of  some  actual  being 
from  the  unseen  world,  who  had  such  a  marvelous 
power  as  I  had  never  before  felt  in  any  being;  just 
at  this  moment  of  great  alarm,  I  saw  a  pillar  of  light 
exactly  over  my  head,  above  the  brightness  of  the 
sun,  which  descended  gradually  until  it  fell  upon  me. 
It  no  sooner  appeared  than  I  found  myself  delivered 
from  the  enemy  which  held  me  bound.  When  the 
light  rested  upon  me,  I  saw  two  personages,  whose 
brightness  and  glory  defy  all  description,  standing 
above  me  in  the  air.  One  of  them  spake  unto  me, 
calling  me  by  name,  and  said,  pointing  to  the  other, 
'This  is  my  beloved  Son;  hear  him!' 

"My  object  in  going  to  inquire  of  the  Lord,  was 
to  know  which  of  all  these  sects  was  right,  that  I 
might  know  which  to  join.  No  sooner,  therefore, 
did  I  get  possession  of  myself,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
speak,  than  I  asked  the  personages  who  stood  above 
me  in  the  light,  which  of  all  the  sects  was  right — for 
at  this  time  it  had  never  entered  into  my  heart 
that  all  were  wrong — and  which  I  should  join.  I 
was  answered  that  I  should  join  none  of  them,  for 
they  were  all  wrong;  and  the  personage  who  ad- 
dressed me  said  that  all  their  creeds  were  an  abomi- 
nation in  his  sight;  that  those  professors  were  all 
corrupt.  'They  draw  near  me  with  their  lips,  but 
their  hearts  are  far  from  me ;  they  teach  for  doctrine 
the  commandments  of  men,  having  a  form  of  godli- 
ness, but  they  deny  the  power  thereof.'  He  again 
forbade  me  to  join  any  of  them;  and  many  other 
things  did  he  say  unto  me  which  I  can  not  write  at 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


81 


this  time.  When  I  came  to  myself  again,  I  found 
myself  lying  on  my  back,  looking  up  into  heaven. 
Some  few  days  after  I  had  this  vision,  I  happened 
to  be  in  company  v^ith  one  of  the  Methodist  preach- 
ers who  was  very  active  in  the  before-mentioned 
religious  excitement,  and  conversing  with  him  upon 
the  subject  of  religion,  I  took  occasion  to  give  him  an 
account  of  the  vision  which  I  had  had.  I  was 
greatly  surprised  at  his  behavior; he  treated  my  com- 
munication not  only  lightly,  but  with  great  contempt, 
saying  it  was  all  of  the  Devil;  that  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  visions  or  revelations  in  these  days; 
that  all  such  things  had  ceased  with  the  apostles,  and 
that  there  never  would  be  any  more  of  them.  I  soon 
found,  however,  that  my  telling  the  story  had  excited 
a  great  deal  of  prejudice  against  me  among  pro- 
fessors of  religion,  and  was  the  cause  of  great  per- 
secution, which  continued  to  increase;  and  though 
i  was  an  obscure  boy,  only  between  fourteen  and 
fifteen  years  of  age,  and  my  circumstances  in  life 
such  as  to  make  a  boy  of  no  consequence  in  the 
world,  yet  men  of  high  standing  would  take  notice 
sufficient  to  excite  the  public  mind  against  me  and 
create  a  hot  persecution;  and  this  was  common 
among  all  the  sects — all  united  to  persecute  me.  It 
has  often  caused  me  serious  reflection,  both  then  and 
since,  how  very  strange  it  was  that  an  obscure  boy, 
of  a  little  over  fourteen  years  of  age — and  one,  too, 
who  was  doomed  to  the  necessity  of  obtaining  a 
scanty  maintenance  by  his  daily  labor,  should  be 
thought  a  character  of  sufficient  importance  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  great  ones  of  the  most 


82  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

popular  sects  of  the  day,  so  as  to  create  in  them  a 
spirit  of  the  hottest  persecution  and  revihng.  But 
strange  or  not,  so  it  was,  and  was  often  cause  of 
great  sorrow  to  myself.  However,  it  was,  neverthe- 
less, a  fact  that  I  had  had  a  vision.  I  have  thought 
since,  that  I  felt  much  like  Paul  when  he  made  his 
defense  before  King  Agrippa,  and  related  the  ac- 
count of  the  vision  he  had  when  he  'saw  a  light  and 
heard  a  voice';  but  still  there  were  but  few  who 
believed  him.  Some  said  he  was  dishonest,  others 
said  he  was  mad,  and  he  was  ridiculed  and  reviled; 
but  all  this  did  not  destroy  the  reality  of  his  vision. 
He  had  seen  a  vision — he  knew  he  had — and  all 
the  persecution  under  heaven  could  not  make  it 
othei*wise;  and  though  they  should  persecute  him 
unto  death,  yet  he  knew,  and  would  know  unto  his 
latest  breath,  that  he  had  both  seen  a  light  and 
heard  a  voice  speaking  to  him,  and  all  the  world 
could  not  make  him  think  or  believe  otherwise.  So 
it  was  with  me.  I  had  actually  seen  a  light,  and  in 
the  midst  of  that  light  I  saw  two  personages,  and 
they  did  in  reality  speak  unto  me,  or  one  of  them 
did;  and  though  I  was  hated  and  persecuted  for 
saying  that  I  had  seen  a  vision,  yet  it  was  true ;  and 
while  they  were  persecuting  me,  reviling  me,  and 
speaking  all  manner  of  evil  against  me  falsely,  for 
so  saying,  I  was  led  to  say  in  my  heart,  Why  per- 
secute for  telling  the  truth?  I  have  actually  seen 
a  vision ;  and  who  am  I  that  I  can  withstand  God?  or 
why  does  the  world  think  to  make  me  deny  what  I 
have  actually  seen?  for  I  had  seen  a  vision.  I  knew 
it,  and  I  knew  that  God  knew  it;  and  I  could  not 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


83 


deny  it,  neither  dare  I  do  it — at  least,  I  knew  that 
by  so  doing  I  would  offend  God,  and  come  under 
condemnation." — Times  and  Seasons,  volume  3,  page 
727.  Supplement  to  Millennial  Star,  volume  14, 
page  2. 

From  this  time  until  the  21st  of  September,  1823, 
Joseph  continued,  as  usual,  to  labor  with  his  father, 
and  nothing  during  this  interval  occurred  of  very 
great  importance — though  he  suffered,  as  one  would 
naturally  suppose,  every  kind  of  opposition  and  per- 
secution from  the  different  orders  of  religionists. 

On  the  evening  of  the  21st  of  September,  he 
retired  to  his  bed  in  quite  a  serious  and  contempla- 
tive state  of  mind.  He  shortly  betook  himself  to 
prayer  and  supplication  to  almighty  God,  for  a 
manifestation  of  his  standing  before  him,  and  while 
bhus  engaged  he  received  the  following  vision: 

"While  I  was  thus  in  the  act  of  calling  upon  God, 
I  discovered  a  light  appearing  in  the  room,  which 
eontmued  to  increase  until  the  room  was  lighter  than 
at  noonday,  when  immediately  a  personage  appeared 
at  my  bedside,  standing  in  the  air,  for  his  feet  did 
Qot  touch  the  floor.  He  had  on  a  loose  robe  of  most 
sxquisite  whiteness.  It  was  a  whiteness  beyond 
anything  earthly  I  had  ever  seen,  nor  do  I  be- 
lieve that  any  earthly  thing  could  be  made  to 
appear  so  exceedingly  white  and  brilliant.  His 
hands  were  naked,  and  his  arms  also,  a  little 
above  the  wrist;  so  also  were  his  feet  naked,  as 
were  his  legs  a  little  above  the  ankles.  His  head 
ind  neck  were  also  bare.  I  could  discover  that  he 
aad  no  other  clothing  on  but  this  robe,  as  it  was 


84  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

open,  so  that  I  could  see  into  his  bosom.  Not  only 
was  his  robe  exceedingly  white,  but  his  whole  person 
was  glorious  beyond  description,  and  his  counte- 
nance truly  like  lightning.  The  room  was  exceed- 
ingly light,  but  not  so  very  bright  as  immediately 
around  his  person.  When  I  first  looked  upon  him  I 
was  afraid,  but  the  fear  soon  left  me.  He  called  me 
by  name,  and  said  unto  me  that  he  was  a  messenger 
sent  from  the  presence  of  God  to  me,  and  that  his 
name  was  Nephi,^  that  God  had  a  work  for  me  to 
do,  and  that  my  name  should  be  had  for  good  and 
evil  among  all  nations,  kindreds,  and  tongues;  or 
that  it  should  be  both  good  and  evil  spoken  of  among 
all  people.  He  said  there  was  a  book  deposited, 
written  upon  gold  plates,  giving  an  account  of  the 
former  inhabitants  of  this  continent,  and  the  source 
from  whence  they  sprang.  He  also  said  that  the 
fullness  of  the  everlasting  gospel  was  contained  in 
it,  as  delivered  by  the  Savior  to  the  ancient  inhabit- 
ants. Also,  that  there  were  two  stones  in  silver 
bows,  and  these  stones  fastened  to  a  breastplate, 
constituted  what  is  called  the  Urim  and  Thummim, 
deposited  with  the  plates;  and  the  possession  and 
use  of  these  stones  were  what  constituted  seers  in 
ancient  or  former  times ;  and  that  God  had  prepared 
them  for  the  purpose  of  translating  the  book.  After 
telling  me  these  things,  he  commenced  quoting  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament.    He  first  quoted 

'Moroni,  see  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  section  50,  paragraph 
2;  Elder's  Journal,  volume  1,  pages  28  and  129;  History  of 
Joseph  Smith  under  year  1838;  Deseret  News,  number  10, 
volume  3.— O.  P. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


85 


part  of  the  third  chapter  of  Malachi ;  and  he  quoted 
also  the  fourth  or  last  chapter  of  the  same  prophecy, 
though  with  a  little  variation  from  the  way  it  reads 
in  our  Bible.  Instead  of  quoting  the  first  verse  as 
it  reads  in  our  books,  he  quoted  it  thus :  'For  behold 
the  day  cometh  that  shall  burn  as  an  oven;  and  all 
the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do  wickedly,  shall  burn 
as  stubble,  for  they  that  come  shall  bum  them,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  that  it  shall  leave  them  neither 
root  or  branch.'  And  again  he  quoted  the  fifth  verse 
thus :  'Behold,  i  will"  reveal  unto  you  the  priesthood 
by  the  hand  of  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  coming 
of  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord.'  He 
also  quoted  the  next  verse  differently :  'And  he  shall 
plant  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  the  promises  made 
to  the  fathers,  end  the  hearts  of  the  children  shall 
turn  to  their  fathers;  if  it  were  not  so,  the  whole 
earth  would  be  utterly  wasted  at  its  coming.'  In 
addition  to  these,  he  quoted  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
Isaiah,  saying  that  it  was  about  to  be  fulfilled.  He 
quoted  also  the  third  chapter  of  Acts,  twenty-second 
and  twenty-ithird  verses,  precisely  as  they  stand  in 
our  New  Testament.  He  said  that  the  prophet  was 
Christ,  but  the  day  had  not  yet  come  'when  they 
who  would  not  hear  his  voice  should  be  cut  off  from 
among  the  people,'  but  soon  would  come.  He  also 
quoted  the  second  chapter  of  Joel,  from  the  twenty- 
eighth  verse  to  the  last.  He  also  said  that  this  was 
not  yet  fulfilled,  but  was  soon  to  be.  And  he  further 
stated  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles  was  soon  to  come 
in.  He  quoted  many  other  passages  of  Scripture, 
and  offered  many  explanations  Which  can  not  be 


86  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

mentioned  here.  Again,  he  told  me  that  when  I  got 
those  plates  of  which  he  had  spoken,  (for  the  time 
that  they  sihould  be  obtained  was  not  then  fulfilled,) 
I  should  not  show  them  to  any  person,  neither  the 
breastplate,  with  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  only  to 
tnose  to  whom  I  should  be  commanded  to  show  them : 
if  i  did  I  should  be  destroyed.  While  he  was  con- 
versing with  me  about  the  plates,  the  vision  was 
opened  to  my  mind  that  I  could  see  the  place  where 
the  plates  were  deposited,  and  that  so  clearly  and 
aistinctly,  that  I  knew  the  place  again  when  I  visited 
it. 

"After  this  communication,  I  saw  the  light  in  the 
room  begin  to  gather  immediately  around  the  person 
of  him  who  had  been  speaking  to  me,  and  it  con- 
tinued to  do  so  until  the  room  was  again  left  dark, 
except  just  around  him;  when  instantly  I  saw,  as  it 
were,  a  conduit  open  right  up  into  heaven,  and  he 
ascended  up  till  he  entirely  disappeared,  and  the 
room  was  left  as  it  had  been  before  this  heavenly 
light  made  its  appearance, 

I  lay  musing  on  the  singularity  of  the  scene,  and 
marveling  greatly  at  what  had  been  told  me  by  this 
extraordinary  messenger  when,  in  the  midst  of  my 
meditation,  I  suddenly  discovered  that  my  room  was 
again  beginning  to  get  lighted,  and,  in  an  instant,  as 
it  were,  the  same  heavenly  messenger  was  again  by 
my  bedside.  He  commenced,  and  again  related  the 
very  same  things  which  he  had  done  at  his  first  visit, 
without  the  least  variation,  which  having  done,  he 
informed  me  of  great  judgments  which  were  coming 
upon  the  earth,  with  great  desolations  by  famine. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


87 


sword,  and  pestilence;  and  that  these  grevious  judg- 
ments would  come  on  the  earth  in  this  generation. 
Having  related  these  things,  he  again  ascended  as 
he  had  done  before." — Times  and  Seasons,  volume  3, 
page  729.  Supplement  to  Millennial  Star,  volume 
14,  page  4. 

When  the  angel  ascended  the  second  time,  he  left 
Joseph  overwhelmed  with  astonishment,  yet  gave 
him  but  a  short  time  to  contemplate  the  things  which 
he  had  told  him  before  he  made  his  reappearance, 
and  rehearsed  the  same  things  over,  adding  a  few 
words  of  caution  and  instruction,  thus-:  that  he  must 
beware  of  covetousness,  and  he  must  not  suppose  the 
record  was  to  be  brought  forth  with  the  vie'.^  of 
getting  gain,  for  this  was  not  the  case,  but  that  it 
was  to  bring  forth  light  and  intelligence,  which  had 
for  a  long  time  been  lost  to  the  world ;  and  that  when 
he  went  to  get  the  plates,  he  must  be  on  his  guard, 
or  his  mind  would  be  filled  with  darkness.  The 
angel  then  told  him  to  tell  his  father  all  which  he 
had  both  seen  and  heard. 


83 


JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  ANGEL  VISITS  JOSEPH  AGAIN — JOSEPH  TELLS  HIS 
FATHER  WHAT  HE  HAS  SEEN  AND  HEARD — HE  IS 
PERMITTED  TO  BEHOLD  THE  PLATES — RECEIVES  FUR- 
THER INSTRUCTIONS — COMMUNICATES  THE  SAME 
TO  THE  FAMILY — TAKES  THE  PLATES  INTO  HIS 
HANDS — THEY  ARE  TAKEN  FROM  HIM,  AND  HE  IS 
REPROVED — HIS  DISAPPOINTMENT. 

The  next  day,  my  husband,  Alvin,  and  Joseph, 
were  reaping  together  in  the  field,  and  as  they  were 
reaping  Joseph  stopped  quite  suddenly,  and  seemed 
to  be  in  a  very  deep  study.  Alvin,  observing  it, 
hurried  him,  saying,  "We  must  not  slacken  our 
hands,  or  we  will  not  be  able  to  complete  our  task." 
Upon  this  Joseph  went  to  work  again,  and  after 
laboring  a  short  time,  he  stopped  just  as  he  had 
done  before.  This  being  quite  unusual  and  strange, 
it  attracted  the  attention  of  his  father,  upon  which 
he  discovered  that  Joseph  was  very  pale.  My  hus- 
band, supposing  that  he  was  sick,  told  him  to  go  to 
the  house,  and  have  his  mother  doctor  him.  He  ac- 
cordingly ceased  his  work,  and  started,  but  on  com- 
ing to  a  beautiful  green,  under  an  apple-tree,  he 
stopped  and  lay  down,  for  he  was  so  weak  he  could 
proceed  no  further.  He  was  here  but  a  short  time, 
when  the  messenger  whom  he  saw  the  previous 
night,  visited  him  again,  and  the  first  thing  he  said 
was,  "Why  did  you  not  tell  your  father  that  which 
I  commanded  you  to  tell  him?"    Joseph  replied,  "I 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


89 


was  afraid  my  father  would  not  believe  me."  The 
angel  rejoined,  "He  will  believe  every  word  you  say 
to  him." 

Josepih  then  promised  the  angel  that  he  would  do 
as  he  had  been  commanded.  Upon  this,  the  messen- 
ger departed,  and  Joseph  returned  to  the  field  where 
he  had  left  my  husband  and  Alvin ;  but  when  he  got 
there  his  father  had  just  gone  to  the  house,  as  he 
was  somewhat  unwell.  Joseph  then  desired  Alvin 
to  go  straightway  and  see  his  father,  and  inform  him 
that  he  had  something  of  great  importance  to  com- 
municate to  him,  and  that  he  wanted  him  to  come 
out  into  the  field  where  we  were  at  work.  Alvin 
did  as  he  was  requested,  and  wihen  my  husband  got 
there,  Joseph  related  to  him  all  that  had  passed  be- 
tween him  and  the  angel  the  previous  night  and  that 
morning.  Having  heard  this  account,  his  father 
charged  him  not  to  fail  in  attending  strictly  to  the 
instruction  which  he  had  received  from  this  heavenly 
messenger. 

Soon  after  Joseph  had  this  conversation  with  his 
father,  he  repaired  to  the  place  where  the  plates 
were  deposited,  which  place  he  describes  as  follows: 

"Convenient  to  the  village  of  Manchester,  Ontario 
County,  New  York,  stands  a  hill  of  considerable  size, 
and  the  most  elevated  of  any  in  the  neighborhood. 
On  the  west  side  of  this  hill,  not  far  from  the  top, 
under  a  stone  of  considerable  size,  lay  the  plates, 
deposited  in  a  stone  box.  This  stone  was  thick  and 
rounding  in  the  middle,  on  the  upper  side,  and  thin- 
ner towards  the  edges,  so  that  the  middle  part  of  it 


90  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

was  visible  above  the  ground;  but  the  edges  all 
round  were  covered  with  earth. 

"Having  removed  the  earth,  and  obtained  a  lever, 
which  I  got  fixed  under  the  edge  of  the  stone,  with  a 
little  exertion  I  raised  it  up.  I  looked,  and  there, 
indeed,  did  I  behold  the  plates,  the  Urim  and  Thum- 
mim,  and  the  breastplate,  as  stated  by  the  messen- 
ger." {Times  and  Seasons,  volume  3,  page  729. 
Supplement  to  Millennial  Star,  volume  14,  page  5.) 

While  Joseph  remained  here,  the  angel  showed 
himi,  by  contrast,  the  difference  between  good  and 
evil,  and  likewise  the  consequences  of  both  obedience 
and  disobedience  to  the  commandments  of  God,  in 
such  a  striking  manner,  that  the  impression  was 
always  vivid  in  his  memory  until  the  very  end  of 
his  days;  and  in  giving  a  relation  of  this  circum- 
stance, not  long  prior  to  his  death,  he  remarked,  that 
"ever  afterwards  he  was  willing  to  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  God." 

Furthermore,  the  angel  told  him,  at  the  interview 
mentioned  last,  that  the  time  had  not  yet  come  for 
the  plates  to  be  brought  forth  to  the  world ;  that  he 
could  not  take  them  from  the  place  wherein  they 
were  deposited  until  he  had  learned  to  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  God — not  only  till  he  was  willing,  but 
able,  to  do  it.  The  angel  bade  Joseph  come  to  this 
place  every  year,  at  the  same  time  of  the  year,  and 
he  would  meet  him  there  and  give  him  further  in- 
struction. 

The  ensuing  evening,  when  the  family  were  all 
together,  Joseph  made  known  to  them  all  that  he  had 
communicated  to  his  father  in  the  field,  and  also  of 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


91 


his  finding  the  record,  as  well  as  what  passed  be- 
tween him  and  the  ^ngel  while  he  was  at  the  place 
where  the  plates  were  deposited. 

Sitting  up  late  that  evening,  in  order  to  converse 
upon  these  things,  together  with  over-exertion  of 
mind,  had  much  fatigued  Joseph;  and  when  Alvin 
observed  it,  he  said,  "Now,  brother,  let  us  go  to  bed, 
and  rise  early  in  the  morning,  in  order  to  finish  our 
day's  work  at  an  hour  before  sunset ;  then,  if  mother 
will  get  our  suppers  early,  we  will  have  a  fine  long 
evening,  and  we  will  all  sit  down  for  the  purpose 
of  listening  to  you  while  you  tell  us  the  great  things 
which  God  has  revealed  to  you." 

Accordingly,  by  sunset  the  next  day  we  were  all 
seated,  and  Joseph  commenced  telling  us  the  great 
and  glorious  things  which  God  had  manifested  to 
him;  but,  before  proceeding,  he  charged  us  not  to 
mention  out  of  the  family  that  which  he  was  about 
to  say  to  us,  as  the  world  was  so  wicked  that  when 
they  came  to  a  knowledge  of  these  things  they  would 
try  to  take  our  lives ;  and  that  when  we  should  obtain 
the  plates,  our  names  would  be  cast  out  as  evil  by 
all  people.  Hence  the  necessity  of  suppressing  these 
things  as  much  as  possible,  until  the  time  should' 
come  for  them  to  go  forth  to  the  world. 

After  giving  usi  this  charge,  he  proceeded  to  relate 
further  particulars  concerning  the  work  which  he 
was  appointed  to  do,  and  we  received  them  joyfully, 
never  mentioning  them  except  among  ourselves, 
agreeable  to  the  instructions  which  we  had  received 
from  him. 

From  this  time  forth,  Joseph  continued  to  receive 


92  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

instructions  from  the  Lord,  and  we  continued  'to  get 
the  children  together  every  evening,  for  the  purpose 
of  listening  while  he  gave  us  a  relation  of  the  same. 
1  presume  our  family  presented  an  aspect  as  singular 
as  any  that  ever  lived  upon  the  face  of  the  earth — all 
seated  in  a  circle,  father,  mother,  sons,  and  daugh- 
ters, and  giving  the  most  profound  attention  to  a 
boy,  eighteen  years  of  age,  who  had  never  read  the 
Bible  through  in  his  life:  he  seemed  much  less  in- 
clined to  the  perusal  of  books  than  any  of  the  rest 
of  our  children,  but  far  more  given  to  meditation 
and  deep  study. 

We  were  now  confirmed  in  the  opinion  that  God 
was  about  to  bring  to  light  something  upon  which  we 
could  stay  our  minds,  or  that  would  give  us  a  more 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  plan  of  salvation  and  the 
redemption  of  the  human  family.  This  caused  us 
greatly  to  rejoice,  the  sweetest  union  of  happiness 
pervaded  our  house,  and  tranquility  reigned  in  our 
midst. 

During  our  evening  conversations,  Joseph  would 
occasionally  give  us  some  of  the  most  amusing 
recitals  that  could  be  imagined.  He  would  describe 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  continent,  their  dress, 
mode  of  traveling,  and  the  animals  upon  which  they 
rode,  their  cities,  their  buildings,  with  every  particu- 
lar; their  mode  of  warfare;  and  also  their  religious 
worship.  This  he  would  do  with  as  much  ease, 
seemingly,  as  if  he  had  spent  his  whole  life  with 
them. 

On  the  22d  of  September,  1824,  Joseph  again 
visited  the  place  where  he  found  the  plates  the  year 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


93 


previous;  and  supposing  at  this  time  that  the  only 
thing  required,  in  order  to  possess  them  until  the 
time  for  their  translation,  was  to  be  able  to  keep  the 
commandments  of  God — and  he  firmly  believed  that 
he  oould  keep  every  commandment  which  had  been 
given  him — ^he  fully  expected  to  carry  them  home 
with  him.  Therefore,  having  arrived  at  the  place, 
and  uncovering  the  plates,  he  put  forth  his  hand  and 
took  them  up,  but,  as  he  was  taking  them  hence,  the 
unhappy  thought  darted  through  his  mind  that 
probably  there  was  something  else  in  the  box  besides 
the  plates,  which  would  be  of  some  pecuniary  advan- 
tage to  him.  So,  in  the  moment  of  excitement,  he 
laid  them  down  very  carefully,  for  the  purpose  of 
covering  the  box,  lest  some  one  might  happen  to 
pass  that  way  and  get  whatever  there  might  be 
remaining  in  it.  After  covering  it,  he  turned  round 
to  take  the  record  again,  but  behold  it  was  gone,  and 
where  he  knew  not,  neither  did  he  know  the  means 
by  which  it  had  been  taken  from  him. 

At  this,  as  a  natural  consequence,  he  was  much 
alarmed.  He  kneeled  down  and  asked  the  Lord  why 
the  record  had  been  taken  from  him;  upon  which 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  him,  and  told 
him  that  he  had  not  done  as  he  had  been  commanded, 
for  in  a  former  revelation  he  had  been  commanded 
not  to  lay  the  plates  down,  or  put  them  for  a  moment 
out  of  his  hands,  until  he  got  into  the  house  and 
deposited  them  in  a  chest  or  trunk,  having  a  good 
lock  and  key,  and,  contrary  to  this,  he  had  laid  them 
down  with  the  view  of  securing  some  fancied  or 
imaginary  treasure  that  remained. 


94  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

In  the  moment  of  excitement,  Joseph  was  over- 
come by  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  forgot  the  in- 
junction that  was  laid  upon  him. 

Having  some  further  conversation  with  the  angel 
on  this  occasion,  Joseph  was  permitted  to  raise  the 
stone  again,  when  he  beheld  the  plates  as  he  had 
done  before.  He  immediately  reached  forth  his  hand 
to  take  them,  but  instead  of  getting  them,  as  he 
anticipated,  he  was  hurled  back  upon  the  ground 
with  great  violence.  WTien  he  recovered,  the  angel 
was  gone,  and  he  arose  and  returned  to  the  house, 
weeping  for  grief  and  disappointment. 

As  he  was  aware  that  we  would  expect  him  to 
bring  the  plates  home  with  him,  he  was  greatly 
troubled,  fearing  thai;  we  might  doubt  his  having 
seen  them.  As  soon  as  he  entered  the  house,  my 
husband  asked  him  if  he  had  obtained  the  plates. 
The  answer  was,  "No,  father,  I  could  not  get  them." 

His  father  then  said,  "Did  you  see  them?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Joseph,  "I  saw  them,  but  could  not 
take  them." 

"I  would  have  taken  them,"  rejoined  his  father, 
with  much  earnestness,  "if  I  had  been  in  your  place." 

"Why,"  returned  Joseph,  in  quite  a  subdued  tone, 
"you  do  not  know  what  you  say.  I  could  not  get 
them,  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  would  not  let  me." 

Joseph  then  related  the  circumstance  in  full, 
which  gave  us  much  uneasiness,  as  we  were  afraid 
that  he  might  utterly  fail  of  obtaining  the  record 
through  some  neglect  on  his  part.  We,  therefore, 
doubled  our  diligence  in  prayer  and  supplication  to 
Grod,  in  order  that  he  might  be  more  fully  instructed 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


95 


in  his  duty,  and  be  preserved  from  all  the  wiles  and 
maohinations  of  him  "who  lieth  in  wait  to  deceive."^ 
We  were  still  making  arrangements  to  build  us  a 
comfortable  house,  the  management  and  control  of 
which  devolved  chiefly  upon  Alvin.  And  when 
November,  1824,  arrived,  the  frame  was  raised,  and 
all  the  materials  necessary  for  its  speedy  completion 
were  procured.  This  opened  to  Alvin's  mind  the 
pleasing  prospect  of  seeing  his  father  and  mother 
once  more  comfortable  and  happy.  He  would  say, 
"I  am  going  to  have  a  nice  pleasant  room  for  father 
and  mother  to  sit  in  and  everything  arranged  for 
their  comfort,  and  they  shall  not  work  any  more  as 
they  have  done."* 

'Whatever  may  have  been  Joseph  Smith's  lack  of  natural 
ability,  one  thing  is  quite  certain,  that  the  peciiliar  discipline 
to  which  he  was  subjected  in  these  early  days  was  of  such 
a  character  that  he  learned  that  strict  obedience  and  faith- 
fulness to  duty  were  the  most  essential  requisites  to  an 
acceptance  with  God;  this  fitted  him  for  the  work  that  he 
subsequently  did. 

"Of  the  life  of  Lucy  Smith,  familiarly  called  Grandmother 
Smith,  after  the  Martyr's  death,  little  need  be  written.  At 
the  time  of  the  tragedy  at  Carthage,  Grandmother  Smith 
was  living  with  Joseph,  and  continued  living  with  Emma 
until  in  September  following,  when  she  removed  with  her 
son-in-law,  Arthur  Millikin,  and  her  daughter  Lucy,  into  a 
house  known  as  the  Ponson  house,  hired  for  them  by  the 
church,  which  also  hired  a  girl  to  wait  upon  her  and  help 
generally.  Sometime  that  fall,  the  fall  of  1844,  she  com- 
menced her  history,  the  work  now  being  republished,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Corey  writing  for  her. 

She  completed  this  work  sometime  in  1845,  the  copyright 
being  secured  for  her  by  Elder  Almon  W.  Babbit,  in  that 
year,  or  in  the  early  part  of  1846.  The  family  moved  into 
the  house  owned  by  Elder  William  Marks  in  1845,  but 
remained  only  till  the  next  year,  when  they  settled  in  a  house 
bought  for  Grandmother,  by  the  church.  In  the  fall  of  1846, 
under  the  pressure  of  the  mob  coming  against  the  city,  they 


96  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


moved  to  Knoxville,  Illinois,  remaining  over  the  winter,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1847  returning  to  Nauvoo,  again.  Here  they 
remained  till  the  fall  of  1849,  when  they  moved  to  Webster, 
in  the  same  county,  staying  there  two  years,  when  they 
removed  to  Fountain  Green.  In  the  spring  of  1852  Grand- 
mother Smith,  and  a  grandchild,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  H. 
Smith,  Mary  Bailey  Smith  by  name,  went  to  Nauvoo  to  live 
with  Major  Lewis  C.  Bidamon,  whom  Emma  Smith  had 
married  in  1847.  She  remained  with  them,  until  her  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  farm  owned  by  the  prophet  before  his 
death,  two  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Nauvoo,  on  the  road  to 
Carthage.  The  farm  was  then  being  carried  on  by  Sr.  Emma 
and  her  boys;  and  here,  on  May  8,  1855,  watched  over  and 
ministered  to  by  Emima,  the  wife  of  her  son  Joseph,  her 
grandson,  Joseph  3d,  and  the  young  daughter  of  a  neighbor- 
ing farmer,  Elizabeth  Pilkington  by  name,  this  noble-hearted 
mother  in  Israel  went  to  her  rest. 

Her  granddaughter,  Mary  B.  Smith,  had  some  months 
before  her  death,  married  a  Mr.  Edward  Kelteau,  and  had 
taken  up  her  battle  wdth  the  things  of  this  life  for  herself. 
Major  Bidamon  was  always  kind  to  Grandmother  Smith,  and 
being  a  skillful  workman  in  wood,  constructed  for  her  use  a 
chair  and  carriage,  upon  which  she  was  wheeled  about  the 
house  and  grounds,  she  being  a  bed-ridden  invalid  for  years, 
helpless  to  a  great  extent. 

For  a  time  she  derived  a  little  income  from  the  exhibition 
and  some  mummies  and  the  papyrus  records  found  with  them, 
which  had  been  left  in  her  care  by  the  church  for  this  pur- 
pose. But  after  a  time  she  parted  with  the  mummies  and 
records;  how,  the  writer  is  not  informed,  though  he  after- 
wards saw  two  of  the  mummies  and  a  part  of  the  records 
in  Wood's  Museum  in  Chicago,  where  they  were  destroyed 
by  the  fire  of  1871. 

Her  son-in-law,  Arthur  Millikin,  states  that  the  "preface 
in  the  history  written  by  Orson  Pratt  is  not  correct,  for  she 
never  talked  "of  such  a  thing  (her  h,istory)  till  the  fall  after 
the  Martyr's  death." 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


97 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ALVIN'S  SICKNESS  AND  DEATH, 

On  the  fifteenth  day  of  November,  1824,  about 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Alvin  was  taken  very 
sick  with  the  bilious  colic.  He  came  to  the  house 
in  much  distress,  and  requested  his  father  to  go 
immediately  for  a  physician.  He  accordingly  went, 
and  got  one  by  the  name  of  Greenwood,  who,  on 
arriving,  immediately  administered  to  the  patient 
a  heavy  dose  of  calomel.  I  will  here  notice  that 
this  Doctor  Greenwood  was  not  the  physician  com- 
monly employed  by  the  family;  he  was  brought  in 
consequence  of  the  family  physician's  absence.  And 
on  this  account,  as  I  suppose,  Alvin  at  first  refused 
to  take  the  medicine,  but  by  much  persuasion  he 
was  prevailed  on  to  do  so. 

This  dose  of  calomel  lodged  in  his  stomach,  and 
all  the  medicine  which  was  freely  administered  by 
four  very  skillful  physicians  could  not  remove  it. 

On  the  third  day  of  his  sickness,  Doctor  Mclntyre, 
whose  services  were  usually  employed  by  the  family, 
as  he  was  considered  very  skillful,  was  brought,  and 
with  him  four  other  eminent  physicians.  But 
it  was  all  in  vain,  their  exertions  proved  unavailing, 
juist  as  Alvin  had  said  would  be  the  case — he  told 
them  the  calomel  was  still  lodged  in  the  same  place, 
after  some  exertion  had  been  made  to  carry  it  off, 
and  that  it  must  take  his  life. 

On  coming  to  this  conclusion,  he  called  Hyrum  to 


98  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

him,  and  said,  "Hyrum,  I  must  die.  Now  I  want 
to  say  a  few  things,  which  I  wish  to  have  you 
remember.  I  have  done  all  I  co^ld  to  make  our 
dear  parents  comfortable.  I  want  you  to  go  on  and 
finish  the  house,  and  take  care  of  them  in  their  old 
age,  and  do  not  any  more  let  them  work  hard,  as 
they  are  now  in  old  age." 

He  then  called  Sophronia  to  him,  and  said  to  her, 
"Sophronia,  you  must  be  a  good  girl,  and  do  all  you 
can  for  father  and  mother — never  forsake  them; 
they  have  worked  hard,  and  they  are  now  getting 
old.  Be  kind  to  them,  and  remember  what  they 
have  done  for  us." 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  night  he  called 
for  all  the  children,  and  exhorted  them  separately 
in  the  same  strain  as  above.  But  when  he  came  to 
Joseph,  he  said,  "I  am  now  going  to  die,  the  distress 
which  I  suffer,  and  the  feelings  that  I  have,  tell  me 
my  time  is  very  short.  I  want  you  to  be  a  good  boy, 
and  do  everything  that  lies  in  your  power  to  obtain 
the  record.  Be  faithful  in  receiving  instruction,  and 
in  keeping  every  commandment  that  is  given  you. 
Your  brother  Alvin  must  leave  you;  but  remember 
the  example  which  he  has  set  for  you;  and  set  the 
same  example  for  the  children  that  are  younger  than 
yourself,  and  always  be  kind  to  father  and  mother." 

He  then  asked  me  to  take  my  little  daughter  Lucy 
up,  and  bring  her  to  him,  for  he  wished  to  see  her. 
He  was  always  very  fond  of  her,  and  was  in  the 
habit  of  taking  her  up  and  caressing  her,  which 
naturally  formed  a  very  strong  attachment  on  her 
part  for  Mm.    I  went  to  her,  and  said,  "Lucy,  Alvin 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


99 


wants  to  see  you."  At  this,  she  started  from  her 
sleep,  and  screamed  out,  "Amby,  Amby;"  (she  could 
not  yet  talk  plain,  being  very  young.)  We  took  her 
to  him,  and  when  she  got  within  reach  of  him,  she 
sprang  from  my  arms  and  caught  him  round  the 
neck,  and  cried  out,  "Oh !  my  Amby,"  and  kissed  him 
again  and  again, 

"Lucy,"  said  he,  "you  must  be  the  best  girl  in  the 
world,  and  take  care  of  mother;  you  can't  have  your 
Amby  any  more.  Amby  is  going  away;  he  must 
leave  little  Lucy."  He  then  kissed  her,  and  said, 
"Take  her  away,  I  think  my  breath  offends  her." 
We  took  bold  of  her  to  take  her  away;  but  she 
clinched  him  with  such  a  strong  grasp,  that  it  was 
with  difficulty  we  succeeded  in  disengaging  her 
hands. 

As  I  turned  with  the  child  to  leave  him,  he  said, 
"Father,  mother,  brothers,  and  sisters,  farewell!  I 
can  now  breathe  out  my  life  as  calmly  as  a  clock." 
Saying  this,  he  immediately  closed  his  eyes  in  death. 

The  child  still  cried  to  go  back  to  Alvin.  One 
present  observed  to  the  child,  "Alvin  is  gone;  an 
angel  has  taken  his  spirit  to  heaven."  Hearing  this, 
the  child  renewed  her  cries,  and,  as  I  bent  over  his 
corpse  with  her  in  my  arms,  she  again  threw  her 
arms  around  him,  and  kissed  him  repeatedly.  And 
until  the  body  was  taken  from  the  house  she  con- 
tinued to  cry,  and  to  manifest  such  mingled  feelings 
of  both  terror  and  affection  at  the  scene  before  her, 
as  are  seldom  witnessed. 

Alvin  was  a  youth  of  singular  goodness  of  dis- 
position— kind  and  amiable — so  that  lamentation 


100  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

and  mourning  filled  the  whole  neighborhood  in  which 
he  resided. 

By  the  request  of  the  principal  physician,  Alvin 
was  cut  open,  in  order  to  discover,  if  it  were  possible, 
the  cause  of  his  death.  On  doing  so,  they  found  the 
calomel  lodged  in  the  upper  bowels,  untouched  by 
anything  which  he  had  taken  to  remove  it,  and  as 
near  as  possible  in  its  natural  state,  surrounded  as 
it  was  with  gangrene. 

A  vast  concourse  of  people  attended  his  obsequies, 
who  seemed  very  anxious  to  show  their  sympathy 
for  us  in  our  bereavement. 

Alvin  manifested,  if  such  could  be  the  case,  greater 
zeal  and  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  record  that  had 
been  shown  to  Joseph,  than  any  of  the  rest  of  the 
family;  in  consequence  of  which  we  could  not  bear 
to  hear  anything  said  upon  the  subject.  Whenever 
Joseph  spoke  of  the  record,  it  would  immediately 
bring  Alvin  to  our  minds,  with  all  his  zeal,  and  with 
all  his  kindness;  and,  when  we  looked  to  his  place, 
and  realized  that  he  was  gone  from  it,  to  return  no 
more  in  this  life,  we  all  with  one  accord  wept  over 
our  irretrievable  loss,  and  we  could  "not  be  com- 
forted, because  he  was  not." 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


101 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

RELIGIOUS  EXCITEMENT — JOSEPH'S  PROPHECY — HE 
WORKS  FOR  MR.  STOAL — BECOMES  ACQUAINTED 
WITH  EMMA  HALE. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Alvin,  a  man  com- 
menced laboring  in  the  neighborhood,  to  effect  a 
union  of  the  different  churches,  in  order  that  all 
might  be  agreed,  and  thus  worship  God  with  one 
heart  and  with  one  mind. 

This  seemed  about  right  to  me,  and  I  felt  much 
inclmed  to  join  in  with  them;  in  fact,  the  most  of 
the  family  appeared  quite  disposed  to  unite  with 
their  number;  but  Joseph,  from  the  first,  utterly 
refused  even  to  attend  their  meeting,  saying, 
"Mother,  I  do  not  wish  to  prevent  your  going  to 
meeting,  or  any  of  the  rest  of  the  family;  or  your 
joining  any  church  you  please;  but,  do  not  ask  me 
to  join  them.  I  can  take  my  Bible,  and  go  into  the 
woods  and  learn  more  in  two  hours  than  you  can 
learn  at  meeting  in  two  years,  if  you  should  go  all 
the  time." 

To  gratify  me,  my  husband  attended  some  two  or 
three  meetings  but  peremptorily  refused  going  any 
more,  either  for  my  gratification,  or  any  other  per- 
son's. 

During  this  excitement,  Joseph  would  say,  it  would 
do  us  no  injury  to  join  them,  that  if  we  did,  we 
should  not  continue  with  them  long,  for  we  were 
mistaken  in  them,  and  did  not  know  the  wickedness 


102  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PHOPHET, 

of  their  hearts.  One  day  he  said  that  he  would  give 
us  an  example,  and  that  we  might  set  it  down  as  a 
prophecy ;  viz : 

"You  look  at  Deacon  Jessup,"  said  he,  "and  you 
hear  him  talk  very  piously.  Well,  you  think  he  is 
a  very  good  man.  Now  suppose  that  one  of  his  poor 
neighbors  should  owe  him  the  value  of  a  cow,  and 
that  this  poor  man  had  eight  little  children;  more- 
over, that  he  should  be  taken  sick  and  die,  leaving 
his  wife  with  one  cow,  but  destitute  of  every  other 
means  of  supporting  herself  and  family — now  I  tell 
you,  that  Deacon  Jessup,  religious  as  he  is,  would 
not  scruple  to  take  the  last  cow  from  the  poor  widow 
and  orphans,  in  order  to  secure  the  debt,  notwith- 
standing he  himself  has  an  abundance  of  every- 
thing." 

At  that  time  this  seemed  impossible  to  us,  yet 
one  year  had  scarcely  expired  when  we  saw  Joseph's 
supposition  literally  fulfilled. 

The  shock  occasioned  by  Alvin's  death,  in  a  short 
time  passed  off,  and  we  resumed  our  usual  avoca- 
tions with  considerable  interest.  The  first  move 
towards  business  was  to  complete  the  house  before 
mentioned.  This  we  did  as  speedily  as  possible,  and, 
when  it  was  finished,  Mr.  Stoddard,  the  principal 
workman,  offered  for  it  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars ;  but  my  husband  refused  his  offer,  as  he  was 
unwilling  to  leave  the  scene  of  our  labor,  where  we 
had  fondly  anticipated  spending  the  remainder  of 
our  days. 

A  short  time  before  the  house  was  completed,  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Josiah  Stoal,  came  from  Che- 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


103 


nango  County,  New  York,  with  the  view  of  getting 
Joseph  to  assist  him  in  digging  for  a  silver  mine.^ 
He  came  for  Joseph  on  account  of  having  heard  that 
he  possessed  certain  keys,  by  which  he  could  discern 
things  invisible  to  the  natural  eye. 

Joseph  endeavored  to  divert  him  from  his  vain 
pursuit,  but  he  was  inflexible  in  his  purpose,  and 
offered  high  wages  to  those  who  would  dig  for  him, 
in  search  of  said  mine,  and  still  insisted  upon  having 
Joseph  to  work  for  him.  Accordingly,  Joseph  and 
several  others  returnea  with  him  and  commenced 
digging.  After  laboring  for  the  old  gentleman 
about  a  month,  without  success,  Joseph  prevailed 
upon  him  to  cease  his  operations;  and  it  was  from 
this  circumstance  of  having  worked  by  the  month, 
at  digging  for  a  silver  mine,  that  the  very  prevalent 
story  arose  of  Joseph's  being  a  money-digger.^ 

^This  pi-oject  of  Stoal's  was  undertaken  from  this  cause — 
an  old  document  had  fallen  into  his  possession,  in  some  way 
or  other,  containing  information  of  silver  mines  being  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood  in  which  he  resided. 

■The  fact  that  Joseph  Smith  with  others  did  at  one  time 
seek  for  treasure,  either  that  contained  in  mines,  or  that 
supposed  'to  have  been  gathered  by  others  and  deposited  by 
them  in  places  of  safety,  the  traces  of  which  were  lost,  has 
formed  a  serious  objection  to  Mormondsm;  it  having  been 
apparently  taken  for  granted  that  because  Joseph  Smith  dug 
for  money,  or  treasure,  there  is  no  truth  in  any  of  the  doc- 
trines that  he  presented.  Shorn  of  the  terrible  things  that 
the  opponents  of  the  church  have  invested  this  money-dig- 
ging business  with,  the  facts  seem  to  be  these:  It  was 
rumored  that  in  or  near  to  Harmony,  Pennsylvania,  the  place 
Wihere  Isaac  Hale,  the  father  of  Emma  Hale  whom  Joseph 
Smith  married,  was  living,  there  had  been  found  at  some  time 
in  the  past,  rich  silver  deposits,  from  which  the  discoverers 
had  taken  fabulous  sums,  considerable  portions  of  which  had 
been  coined,  and  left  in  safe  places  waiting  the  convenience 
of  its  owners  to  remove  it;  that  owing  to  the  uncertain  and 


104  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


While  Joseph  was  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Stoal,  he 
boarded  a  short  time  with  one  Isaac  Hale,  and  it 
was  during  this  interval  that  Joseph  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  daughter,  Miss  Emma  Hale,  to 
whoan  he  immediately  commenced  paying  his  ad- 
dresses, and  was  subsequently  married. 

When  Mr.  Stoal  relinquished  his  project  of  dig- 
ging for  silver,  Joseph  returned  to  his  father's  house. 

Soon  after  his  return,  we  received  intelligence  of 
the  arrival  of  a  new  agent  for  the  Everson  land, 
of  which  our  farm  was  a  portion.  This  reminded 
us  of  the  last  payment,  which  was  still  due,  and 
which  must  be  made  before  we  could  obtain  a  deed 
of  the  place. 

shifting  nature  of  the  times  these  hidden  treasures  had  not 
been  removed,  but  that  the  secret  of  their  places  of  deposit 
and  the  mines  whence  they  were  taken  had  been  lost. 

Because  of  these  rumors,  Josiah  Stoal,  or  Stowell,  Joseph 
Smith  and  others,  did  engage  in  a  search  for  them;  nor  is  it 
seriously  to  the  discredit  of  Joseph  Smith,  if  the  fact  of  his 
havdng  had  visions,  and  seemingly  prophetic  powers  given 
him,  or  it  having  become  current  rumor  that  he  had,  that  he 
should  either  for  himself  or  for  others,  attempt  the  discovery 
of  those  hidden  treasures  by  the  use  of  those  supernatural 
powers. 

The  use  of  the  divining  rod,  of  "witch  hazel,"  or  other 
peculiar  wood,  for  the  discovery  of  water,  or  treasure,  is 
older  than  Joseph  Smith,  and  legends  and  belief  in  remark- 
able finds  by  its  use  are  found  in  regions  where  Joseph  Smith 
never  came,  and  where  Mormonism  is  even  now  a  hiss  and  a 
byword.  There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  it  should 
be  believed  that  Joseph  Smith  engaged  in  the  avocation  of  a 
professional  money  hunter,  or  that  he  prostituted  the  gifts 
he  received  to  this  purpose;  the  most  that  can  be  shown, 
being  that  he,  with  others,  in  the  employ  of  one  who  chose 
to  pay  for  the  work  done,  did  labor  in  digging  for  a  mine. 
In  these  days  of  mining  excitement,  as  fabulous  stories  of 
infatuation  and  superstitious  methods  of  finding  rich  deposits 
pass  current  in  mining  regions  without  comment,  and  without 
serious  detriment  to  the  diaracter  of  those  involved. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


105 


Shortly  after  this,  a  couple  of  gentlemen,  one  of 
whom  was  the  before-named  Stoal,  the  other  a  Mr. 
Knight,  came  into  the  neighborhood  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  a  quantity  of  either  wheat  or  flour; 
and  we,  having  sown  considerable  wheat,  made  a 
contract  with  them,  in  which  we  agreed  to  deliver  a 
certain  quantity  of  flour  to  them  the  ensuing  fall, 
for  which  we  were  to  receive  a  sufficient  amount  of 
money  to  make  the  final  payment  on  our  farm.  This 
being  done,  my  husband  sent  Hyrum  to  Canandaigua 
to  inform  the  new  agent  of  the  fact,  namely,  that 
the  money  should  be  forthcoming  as  soon  as  the  25th 
of  December,  1825.  This,  the  agent  said,  would 
answer  the  purpose,  and  he  agreed  to  retain  the  land 
until  that  time.  Having  thus,  as  we  supposed,  made 
all  secure  pertaining  to  the  land,  we  gave  ourselves 
no  further  uneasiness  in  regard  to  the  matter. 

When  the  time  had  nearly  arrived  for  the  las1 
payment  to  be  made,  and  when  my  husband  was 
about  starting  for  Mr.  Stoal's  and  Mr.  Knight's,  in 
order  to  get  the  money  to  make  the  same,  Joseph 
called  my  husband  and  myself  aside,  and  said,  "I 
have  been  very  lonely  ever  since  Alvin  died,  and  I 
have  concluded  to  get  married;  and  if  you  have  no 
objections  to  my  uniting  myself  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Emma  Hale,  she  would  be  my  choice  in  prefer- 
ence to  any  other  woman  I  have  ever  seen."  We 
were  pleased  with  his  choice,  and  not  only  consented 
to  his  marrying  her,  but  requested  him  to  bring  her 
home  with  him,  and  live  with  us.  Accordingly  he 
set  out  with  his  father  for  Pennsylvania. 


106  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR,  LOSES  HIS  FARM — JOSEPH, 
JUNIOR,  IS  MARRIED — HAS  ANOTHER  INTERVIEW 
WITH  THE  ANGEL,  BY  WHOM  HE  IS  CHASTISED — 
RECEIVES  FURTHER  INSTRUCTIONS. 

A  few  days  subsequent  to  my  husband's  depar- 
ture, I  set  myself  to  work  to  put  my  house  in  order 
for  the  reception  of  my  son's  bride;  and  I  felt  all 
that  pride  and  ambition  in  doing  so,  that  is  common 
to  mothers  upon  such  occasions. 

My  oldest  son  had,  previous  to  this,  formed  a 
matrimonial  relation  with  one  of  the  most  excellent 
of  women,  with  whom  I  had  seen  much  enjoyment, 
and  I  hoped  for  as  much  happiness  with  my  second 
daughter-in-law,  as  I  had  received  from  the  society 
of  the  first,  and  there  was  no  reason  why  I  should 
expect  anything  to  the  contrary. 

One  afternoon,  after  having  completed  my  ar- 
rangements, I  fell  into  a  very  agreeable  train  of 
reflections.  The  day  was  exceedingly  fine,  and  of 
itself  calculated  to  produce  fine  feelings;  besides 
this,  every  other  circumstance  seemed  to  be  in  uni- 
son, and  to  contribute  to  raise  in  the  heart  those 
soothing  and  grateful  emotions  which  we  all  have 
seasons  of  enjoying  when  the  mind  is  at  rest.  Thus, 
as  I  stood  musing,  among  other  things,  upon  the 
prospect  of  a  quiet  and  comfortable  old  age,  my 
attention  was  suddenly  arrested  by  a  trio  of 
strangers  who  were  just  entering.    Upon  their  near 


■f 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS  107 

approach  I  found  one  of  these  gentlemen  to  be  Mr. 
Stoddard,  the  principal  carpenter  in  building  the 
house  in  which  we  then  lived. 

\vhen  they  entered  the  house,  I  seated  them,  and 
commenced  commonplace  conversation.  But  shortly 
one  of  them  began  to  ask  questions  which  I  consid- 
ered rather  impertinent — questions  concerning  our 
making  the  last  payment  on  the  place ;  and  if  we  did 
not  wish  to  sell  the  house;  furthermore,  where  Mr. 
Smith  and  my  son  had  gone,  etc.,  etc. 

"Sell  the  house!"  I  replied,  "No,  sir,  we  have  no 
occasion  for  that,  we  have  made  every  necessary 
arrangement  to  get  the  deed,  and  also  have  an  under- 
standing with  the  agent.  So  you  see  we  are  quite 
secure  in  regard  to  this  matter." 

To  this  they  made  no  answer,  but  went  out  to  meet 
Hyrum,  who  was  approaching  the  house.  They 
asked  him  the  same  questions,  and  he  answered  them 
the  same  as  I  had  done.  When  they  had  experi- 
mented in  this  way,  to  their  satisfaction,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  inform  my  son  that  he  need  put  himself 
to  no  further  trouble  with  regard  to  the  farm ;  "for," 
said  they,  "we  have  bought  the  place,  and  paid  for  it, 
and  we  now  forbid  your  touching  anything  on  the 
farm ;  and  we  also  warn  you  to  leave  forthwith,  and 
give  possession  to  the  lawful  owners." 

This  conversation  passed  within  my  hearing. 
When  they  reentered  the  house,  I  said,  "Hyrum,  is 
it  a  reality?  or  only  a  sham  to  startle  us?"  But  one 
collected  look  at  the  men  convinced  me  of  their 
fiendish  determination — I  was  overcome,  and  fell 
back  into  my  chair  almost  deprived  of  sensibility. 


108  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

When  I  recovered,  we  (Hyrum  and  myself)  talked 
to  them  some  time,  endeavoring  to  persuade  them 
to  change  their  vile  course;  but  the  only  answer 
we  could  get  from  them  was,  "Well,  we've  got  the 
place,  and  d — n  you,  help  yourselves  if  you  can." 

Hyrum,  in  a  short  time,  went  to  an  old  friend. 
Doctor  Robinson,  and  related  to  him  the  grievous 
story.  Whereupon,  the  old  gentleman  sat  down,  and 
wrote  at  some  considerable  length  the  character  of 
the  family — our  industry,  and  faithful  exertions  to 
secure  a  home,  with  many  commendations  calculated 
to  beget  confidence  in  us  with  respect  to  business 
transactions.  And  keeping  this  writing  in  his  own 
hands,  he  went  through  the  village,  and  in  an  hour 
procured  sixty  subscribers.  He  then  sent  the  same, 
by  the  hand  of  Hyrum,  to  the  land  agent,  who  lived 
in  Canandaigua. 

On  receiving  this  the  agent  was  highly  enraged. 
He  said  the  men  had  told  him  that  Mr.  Smith  and 
his  son  Joseph  had  run  away,  and  that  Hyrum  was 
cutting  down  the  sugar  orchard,  hauling  off  the 
rails,  burning  them,  and  doing  all  manner  of  mis- 
chief to  the  farm.  That,  believing  this  statement, 
he  was  induced  to  sell  the  place,  for  which  he  had 
given  a  deed,  and  received  the  money. 

Hyrum  told  him  the  circumstances  under  which 
his  father  and  brother  had  left  home ;  also  the  proba- 
bility of  their  being  detained  on  the  road,  to  attend 
to  some  business.  Upon  this,  the  agent  directed  him 
to  address  a  number  of  letters  to  my  husband,  and 
have  them  sent  and  deposited  in  public-houses  on  the 
road  which  he  traveled,  that,  perchance  some  of 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


109 


them  might  meet  his  eye,  and  thus  cause  him  to 
return  more  speedily  than  he  would  otherwise.  He 
then  despatched  a  messenger  to  those  individuals  to 
whom  he  had  given  a  deed  of  the  farm  in  question, 
with  the  view  of  making  a  compromise  with  them; 
but  they  refused  to  do  anything  respecting  the  mat- 
ter. The  agent  sent  a  message  to  them,  stating  that 
if  they  did  not  make  their  appearance  forthwith, 
he  would  fetch  them  with  a  warrant.  To  this  they 
gave  heed,  and  they  came  without  delay. 

The  agent  strove  to  convince  them  of  the  disgrace- 
ful and  impolitic  course  which  they  were  pursuing, 
and  endeavored  to  persuade  them  to  retract,  and 
let  the  land  go  back  into  Mr.  Smith's  hands  again. 

For  some  time  they  said  but  little,  except  in  a 
sneering  and  taunting  way, about  as  follows:  "We've 
got  the  land,  sir,  and  we've  got  the  deed,  so  just  let 
Smith  help  himself.  Oh,  no  matter  about  Smith, 
he  has  gold  plates,  gold  bibles,  he  is  rich — he  don't 
want  anything."  But  finally,  they  agreed,  if  Hyrum 
could  raise  them  one  thousand  dollars,  by  Saturday, 
at  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  they  would  give  up 
the  deed. 

It  was  now  Thursday  about  noon,  and  Hyrum  was 
at  Canandaigua,  which  was  nine  miles  distant  from 
home,  and  hither  he  must  ride  before  he  could  make 
the  first  move  towards  raising  the  required  amount. 
He  came  home  with  a  heavy  heart.  When  he  ar- 
rived, he  found  his  father,  who  had  returned  a 
short  time  before  him.  His  father  had  fortunately 
found,  within  fifty  miles  of  home,  one  of  those  letters 
which  Hyrum  had  written. 


110  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

The  following  day,  by  the  request  of  my  husband, 
I  went  to  see  an  old  Quaker,  a  gentleman  with  whom 
we  had  been  quite  intimate  since  our  commencement 
on  the  farm,  and  who  had  always  seemed  to  admire 
the  neat  arrangement  of  the  same.  We  hoped  that 
he  would  be  both  able  and  willing  to  purchase  the 
place,  that  we  might  at  least  have  the  benefit  of  the 
crops  that  were  upon  the  ground,  as  he  was  a  friend 
and  would  be  disposed  to  show  us  favor.  But  we 
were  disappointed,  not  in  his  will  or  disposition, 
but  in  his  ability.  He  had  just  paid  out  to  the 
land  agent  all  the  money  he  could  spare,  to  redeem 
a  piece  of  land  belonging  to  a  friend  in  his  immedi- 
ate neighborhood.  If  I  had  arrived  at  his  house 
thirty  minutes  sooner,  I  would  have  found  him  with 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  his  pocket. 

When  I  rehearsed  to  him  what  had  taken  place, 
he  was  much  distressed  for  us,  and  very  much 
regretted  his  inability  to  relieve  our  necessity.  He 
said,  however,  "If  I  have  no  money,  I  will  try  to  do 
something  for  you,  and  you  may  say  to  your  hus- 
band, that  I  will  see  him  as  soon  as  I  can,  and  let 
him  know  what  the  prospect  is." 

It  was  nearly  night — the  country  was  new,  and 
my  road  lay  through  a  dense  forest.  The  distance 
that  I  had  to  travel  was  ten  miles,  and  that  alone, 
yet  I  hastened  to  inform  my  husband  of  the  disap- 
pointment that  I  had  met  with. 

The  old  gentleman,  as  soon  as  I  left,  started  in 
search  of  some  one  that  could  afford  us  assistance, 
and  hearing  of  a  Mr.  Durfee  who  lived  four  miles 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


111 


distant,  he  came  the  same  night  and  directed  us  to 
go  and  see  what  he  could  devise  for  our  benefit. 

Accordingly,  my  husband  started  without  delay 
for  Mr.  Durfee's,  and  arrived  at  his  house  before 
daylight  in  the  morning.  He  sent  my  husband  three 
miles  further,  to  one  of  his  sons,  who  was  high 
sheriff,  instructing  him  to  say  to  the  young  man 
that  his  father  wished  to  see  him  as  soon  as  possible. 
Mr.  Durfee,  the  younger,  was  obedient  to  the  call. 
Immediately  after  he  arrived  at  his  father's,  the 
three  proceeded  together  to  see  the  farm,  and  arrived 
about  ten  o'clock  a.  M.  They  tarried  a  short  time, 
then  rode  on  to  see  the  agent  and  those  villains 
who  held  the  deed  of  our  place. 

The  anxiety  of  mind  that  I  suffered  that  day  can 
more  easily  be  imagined  than  described.  I  now 
looked  upon  the  proceeds  of  our  industry,  which 
smiled  around  us  on  every  hand,  with  a  kind  of 
yearning  attachment  that  I  never  before  had  experi- 
enced; and  our  early  losses  I  did  not  feel  so  keenly, 
for  I  then  realized  that  we  were  young,  and  by 
making  some  exertions  we  might  improve  our  cir- 
cumstances; besides,  I  had  not  felt  the  inconven- 
iences of  poverty  as  I  had  since. 

My  husband,  and  the  Messrs.  Durfee,  arrived  in 
Canandaigua  at  half-past  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
The  agent  sent  immediately  for  Mr.  Stoddard  and 
his  friends,  and  they  came  without  delay;  but  in 
order  to  make  difficulty,  they  contended  that  it  was 
after  ten  o'clock;  however,  not  being  able  to  sustain 
themselves  upon  this  ground,  they  handed  over  the 


112  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

deed  to  Mr.  Durfee,  the  high  sheriff,  who  now  became 
the  possessor  of  the  farm. 

I  stated  before,  that  at  the  time  Mr.  Smith  started 
to  see  Knight  and  Stoal,  Joseph  accompanied  him. 
When  he  returned,  Joseph  also  returned  with  him, 
and  remained  with  us  until  the  difficulty  about  the 
farm  came  to  an  issue ;  he  then  took  leave  for  Penn- 
sylvania, on  the  same  business  as  before  mentioned, 
and  the  next  January  returned  with  his  wife,  in 
good  health  and  fine  spirits. 

Not  long  subsequent  to  his  return,  my  husband 
had  occasion  to  send  him  to  Manchester,  on  business. 
As  he  set  off  early  in  the  day,  we  expected  him  home 
at  most  by  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  but  when  six 
o'clock  came,  he  did  not  arrive.  We  always  had  a 
peculiar  anxiety  about  him  whenever  he  was  absent, 
for  it  seemed  as  though  something  was  always 
taking  place  to  jeopardize  his  life.  But  to  return. 
He  did  not  get  home  till  the  night  was  far  spent. 
On  coming  in,  he  threw  himself  into  a  chair,  appar- 
ently much  exhausted.  My  husband  did  not  observe 
his  appearance,  and  immediately  exclaimed,  "Joseph, 
why  are  you  so  late?  Has  anything  happened  to 
you?  We  have  been  much  distressed  about  you  these 
three  hours."  As  Joseph  made  no  answer,  he  con- 
tinued his  interrogations,  until,  finally,  I  said,  "Now, 
father,  let  him  rest  a  moment — don't  trouble  him 
now — you  see  he  is  home  safe,  and  he  is  very  tired, 
so  pray  wait  a  little." 

The  fact  was,  I  had  learned  to  be  a  little  cautious 
about  matters  with  regard  to  Joseph,  for  I  was  ac- 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


113 


customed  to  see  him  look  as  he  did  on  that  occasion, 
and  I  could  not  easily  mistake  the  cause  thereof. 

Presently  he  smiled,  and  said  in  a  calm  tone,  "I 
have  taken  the  severest  chastisement  that  I  have 
ever  had  in  my  life." 

My  husband,  supposing  that  it  was  from  some  of 
the  neighbors,  was  quite  angry,  and  observed,  "I 
would  like  to  know  what  business  anybody  has  to 
find  fault  with  you!" 

"Stop,  father,  stop,"  said  Joseph,  "it  was  the  angel 
of  the  Lord :  as  I  passed  by  the  Hill  Cumorah,  where 
the  plates  are,  the  angel  met  me,  and  said  that  I  had 
not  been  engaged  enough  in  the  work  of  the  Lord; 
that  the  time  had  come  for  the  record  to  be  brought 
forth;  and  that  I  must  be  up  and  doing,  and  set 
myself  about  the  things  which  God  had  commanded 
me  to  do.  But,  father,  give  yourself  no  uneasiness 
concerning  the  reprimand  which  I  have  received,  for 
I  know  the  course  that  I  am  to  pursue,  so  all  will 
be  well." 

It  was  also  made  known  to  him,  at  this  interview, 
that  he  should  make  another  effort  to  obtain  the 
plates,  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  the  following 
September,  but  this  he  did  not  mention  to  us  at  that 
time. 


114  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

JOSEPH  OBTAINS  THE  PLATES. 

On  the  twentieth  of  September,  Mr.  Knight  and 
his  friend  Stoal  came  to  see  how  we  were  managing 
matters  with  Stoddard  and  Company ;  and  they  tar- 
taried  with  us  until  the  twenty-second.  On  the  night 
of  the  twenty-first,  I  sat  up  very  late,  as  my  work 
rather  pressed  upon  my  hands.  I  did  not  retire 
until  after  twelve  o'clock  at  night.  About  twelve 
o'clock,  Joseph  came  to  me,  and  asked  me  if  I  had 
a  chest  with  a  lock  and  key.  I  knew  in  an  instant 
what  he  wanted  it  for,  and  not  having  one,  I  was 
greatly  alarmed,  as  I  thought  it  might  be  a  matter  of 
considerable  moment.  But  Joseph,  discovering  my 
anxiety,  said,  "Never  mind,  I  can  do  very  well  for 
the  present  without  it — be  calm — all  is  right." 

Shortly  after  this  Joseph's  wife  passed  through 
the  room  with  her  bonnet  and  riding  dress ;  and  in  a 
few  minutes  they  left  together,  taking  Mr.  Knight's 
horse  and  wagon.  I  spent  the  night  in  prayer  and 
supplication  to  God,  for  the  anxiety  of  my  mind 
would  not  permit  me  to  sleep.  At  the  usual  hour, 
I  commenced  preparing  breakfast.  My  heart  flut- 
tered at  every  footstep,  as  I  now  expected  JosL-ph 
and  Emma  momentarily,  and  feared  lest  Joseph 
might  meet  with  a  second  disappointment. 

When  the  male  portion  of  the  family  were  seated 
at  the  breakfast-table,  Mr.  Smith  inquired  i'or 
Joseph,  for  he  was  not  aware  that  he  had  left  home. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


115 


I  requested  my  husband  not  to  call  him,  for  I  would 
like  to  have  him  take  breakfast  with  his  wife  that 
morning. 

"No,  no,"  said  my  husband,  "I  must  have  Joseph 
sit  down  here  and  ea;t  with  me." 

"Well,  now,  Mr.  Smith,"  continued  I,  "do  let  him 
eat  with  his  wife  this  morning;  he  almost  always 
takes  breakfast  with  you." 

His  father  finally  consented,  and  ate  without  him, 
and  no  further  questions  were  made  concerning  his 
absence,  but  in  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Knight  came  in 
Q'lite  disturbed. 

"Why,  Mr.  Smith,"  exclaimed  he,  "my  horse  is 
gone,  and  I  can't  find  him  on  the  premises,  and  I 
wish  to  start  for  home  in  half  an  hour." 

"Never  mind  the  horse,"  said  I.  "Mr  Knight  does 
not  know  all  the  nooks  and  corners  in  the  pastures; 
I  will  call  William,  he  will  bring  the  horse  immedi- 
ately." 

This  satisfied  him  for  the  time  being;  but  he  soon 
made  another  discovery.  His  wagon  also  was  gone. 
He  then  concluded  that  a  rogue  had  stolen  them  both. 

"Mr.  Knight,"  said  I,  "do  be  quiet;  I  would  be 
ashamed  to  have  you  go  about,  v^^aiting  upon  your- 
self— just  go  out  and  talk  with  Mr.  Smith  until  Wil- 
liam comes,  and  if  you  really  must  go  home,  your 
horse  shall  be  brought,  and  you  shall  be  waited  upon 
like  a  gentleman.  He  accordingly  went  out,  and 
while  he  was  absent  Joseph  returned. 

I  trembled  so  with  fear,  lest  all  might  be  lost  in 
consequence  of  some  failure  in  keeping  the  com- 
mandments of  God,  that  I  was  under  the  necessity 


116  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

of  leaving  the  room  in  order  to  conceal  my  feelings. 
Joseph  saw  this,  and  said,  "Do  not  be  uneasy, 
mother,  all  is  right — see  here,  I  have  got  a  key." 

I  knew  not  what  he  meant,  but  took  the  article  of 
which  he  spoke  into  my  hands,  and  upon  examina- 
tion, found  that  it  consisted  of  two  smooth  three- 
cornered  diamonds  set  in  glass,  and  the  glasses  were 
set  in  silver  bows,  which  were  connected  with  each 
other  in  much  the  same  way  as  old-fashioned  spec- 
tacles. He  took  them  again  and  left  me,  but  said 
nothing  respecting  the  record. 

In  a  short  time  he  returned,  and  inquired  of  me  in 
regard  to  getting  a  chest  made.  I  told  him  to  go  to 
a  certain  cabinet-maker,  who  had  made  some  furni- 
ture for  my  oldest  daughter,  and  tell  him  that  we 
would  pay  him  for  making  a  chest,  as  we  did  for  the 
other  work  which  he  had  done  for  us,  namely,  one 
half  in  cash  and  the  other  in  produce. 

Joseph  remarked  that  he  would  do  so,  but  that  he 
did  not  know  where  the  money  would  come  from,  for 
there  was  not  a  shilling  in  the  house. 

The  following  day  one  Mr.  Warner  came  to  him, 
and  told  him  that  a  widow  by  the  name  of  Wells,  who 
was  living  in  Mficedon,  wanted  some  labor  done  in 
a  well,  for  which  she  would  pay  the  money,  and  that 
she  was  anxious  to  have  him  (Joseph)  do  this  labor 
for  her.  As  this  afforded  us  an  opportunity  to  pay 
the  cabinet-maker  for  the  chest,  Joseph  went  im- 
mediately to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Wells,  and  com- 
menced work. 

The  next  day  after  he  left  home,  one  of  the 
neighbors  asked  Mr.  Smith  many  questions  concern- 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


117 


ing  the  plates.  I  will  here  observe,  that  no  one  ever 
heard  anything  from  us  respecting  them,  except  a 
confidential  friend,  whom  my  husband  had  spoken  to 
about  them  some  two  or  three  years  previous.  It 
appeared  that  Satan  had  now  stirred  up  the  hearts 
of  those  who  had  gotten  a  hint  of  the  matter  from 
our  friend,  to  search  into  it,  and  make  every  possi- 
ble move  towards  thwarting  the  purposes  of  the 
Almighty. 

My  husband  soon  learned  that  ten  or  twelve  men 
were  clubbed  together,  with  one  Willard  Chase,  a 
Methodist  class-leader,  at  their  head ;  and  what  was 
still  more  ridiculous,  they  had  sent  sixty  or  seventy 
miles  for  a  certain  conjuror,  to  come  and  divine  the 
place  where  the  plates  were  secreted. 

We  supposed  that  Joseph  had  taken  the  plates,  and 
hid  them  somewhere,  and  we  were  apprehensive  that 
our  enemies  might  discover  their  place  of  deposit. 
Accordingly,  the  next  morning,  after  hearing  of 
their  plans,  my  husband  concluded  to  go  among  the 
neighbors  to  see  what  he  could  learn  with  regard  to 
the  plans  of  the  adverse  party.  The  first  house  he 
came  to,  he  found  the  conjuror  and  Willard  Chase, 
together  with  the  rest  of  the  clan.  Making  an 
errand,  he  went  in  and  sat  down  near  the  door,  leav- 
ing it  a  little  ajar,  in  order  to  overhear  their  con- 
versation. They  stood  in  the  yard  near  the  door, 
and  were  devising  plans  to  find  "Joe  Smith's  gold 
bible,"  as  they  expressed  themselves.  The  conjuror 
seemed  much  animated,  although  he  had  traveled 
sixty  miles  the  day  and  night  previous. 

Presently  the  woman  of  the  house,  becoming 


118  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

uneasy  at  the  exposures  they  were  making,  stepped 
through  a  back  door  into  the  yard,  and  called  to  her 
husband,  in  a  suppressed  tone,  but  loud  enough  to 
be  heard  distinctly  by  Mr.  Smith,  "Sam,  Sam,  you 
are  cutting  your  own  throat."  At  this  the  conjuror 
bawled  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "I  am  not  afraid 
of  anj^body — we  will  have  them  plates  in  spite  of  Joe 
bmith,  or  all  the  devils  in  hell." 

When  the  woman  came  in  again,  Mr.  Smith  laid 
aside  a  newspaper  which  he  had  been  holding  in  his 
hand,  and  remarked,  "I  believe  I  have  not  time  to 
finish  reading  the  paper  now."  He  then  left  the 
house,  and  returned  home. 

Mr.  Smith,  on  returning  home,  asked  Emma  if  she 
knew  whether  Joseph  had  taken  the  plates  from  their 
place  of  deposit,  or  if  she  was  able  to  tell  him  where 
they  were.  She  said  she  could  not  tell  where 
they  were,  or  whether  they  were  removed  from  their 
place.  My  husband  then  related  what  he  had  both 
seen  and  heard. 

Upon  this  Emma  said  that  she  did  not  know  what 
to  do,  but  she  supposed  if  Joseph  was  to  get  the 
record,  he  would  get  it,  and,  that  they  would  not  be 
able  to  prevent  him. 

"Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Smith,  "he  will,  if  he  is  watch- 
ful and  obedient;  but  remember,  that  for  a  small 
thing  Esau  lost  his  birthright  and  his  blessing.  It 
may  be  so  with  Joseph." 

"Well,"  said  Emma,  "if  I  had  a  horse  I  would  go 
and  see  him." 

Mr.  Smith  then  said,  "You  shall  have  one  in  fiiteen 
minutes;  for  although  my  team  is  gone,  there  is  a 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


119 


stray  on  the  place,  and  I  will  send  William  to  bring 
him  immediately." 

In  a  few  minutes  William  brought  up  the  horse 
with  a  large  hickory  withe  round  his  neck;  (for  it 
was  according  to  law,  to  put  a  withe  round  the  neck 
of  a  stray  before  turning  it  into  an  inclosure)  ;  and 
Emma  was  soon  under  way  for  Macedon. 

Joseph  kept  the  Urim  and  Thummim  constantly 
about  his  person,  by  the  use  of  which  he  could  in  a 
moment  tell  whether  the  plates  were  in  any  danger. 
Just  before  Emma  rode  up  to  Mrs.  Wells,  Joseph, 
from  an  impression  that  he  had  had,  came  up  out  of 
the  well  in  which  he  was  laboring,  and-  met  her  not 
far  from  the  house.  Emma  immediately  informed 
him  of  what  had  transpired,  whereupon  he  looked  in 
the  Urim  and  Thummim,  and  saw  that  the  record 
was  as  yet  safe;  nevertheless,  he  concluded  to  re- 
turn with  his  wife,  as  something  might  take  place 
that  would  render  it  necessary  for  him  to  be  at  home 
where  he  could  take  care  of  it. 

He  then  told  Mrs.  Wells  that  business  at  home  ren- 
dered it  necessary  for  him  to  return.  To  this  she 
did  not  agree  at  first,  but  finally  consented.  She  then 
sent  a  boy  for  a  horse,  which  Joseph  mounted  in  his 
linen  frock,  and  with  his  wife  uy  his  side  on  her 
horse,  decorated  as  before  with  a  hickory  withe 
round  his  neck,  he  rode  through  the  village  of  Pal- 
myra, which  was  on  the  way  home. 

On  arriving  at  home,  he  found  his  father  pacing 
the  ground  near  his  door,  in  great  anxiety  of  mind. 
Joseph  spoke  to  him,  saying,  "Father,  there  is  no 


120  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

danger — all  is  perfectly  safe — there  is  no  cause  of 
alarm." 

When  he  had  taken  a  little  refreshment,  he  sent 
Carlos,  my  youngest  son,  to  his  brother  Hyrum's,  to 
have  him  come  up  immediately,  as  he  desired  to  see 
him.  When  he  came,  Joseph  requested  him  to  get 
a  chest,  having  a  good  lock  and  key,  and  to  have  it 
there  by  the  time  he  (Joseph)  should  return.  And, 
after  giving  these  instructions,  Joseph  started  for 
the  plates. 

The  plates  were  secreted  about  three  miles  from 
home,  in  the  following  manner.  Finding  an  old 
birch  log  much  decayed,  excepting  the  bark,  which 
was  in  a  measure  sound,  he  took  his  pocket-knife  and 
cut  the  bark  with  some  care,  then  turned  it  back,  and 
make  a  hole  of  sufficient  size  to  receive  the  plates, 
and  laying  them  in  the  cavity  thus  formed,  he  re- 
placed the  bark;  after  which  he  laid  across  the  log, 
in  several  places,  some  old  stuff  that  happened  to  lay 
near,  in  order  to  conceal,  as  much  as  possible,  the 
place  in  which  they  were  deposited. 

Joseph,  on  coming  to  them,  took  them  from  their 
secret  place,  and,  wrapping  them  in  his  linen  frock, 
placed  them  under  his  arm  and  started  for  home. 

After  proceeding  a  short  distance,  he  thought  it 
would  be  more  safe  to  leave  the  road  and  go  through 
the  woods.  Traveling  some  distance  after  he  left 
the  road,  he  came  to  a  large  windfall,  and  as  he  was 
jumping  over  a  log,  a  man  sprang  up  from  behind  it, 
and  gave  him  a  heavy  blow  with  a  gun.  Joseph 
turned  around  and  knocked  him  down,  then  ran  at 
the  top  of  his  speed.    About  half  a  mile  further  he 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


121 


was  attacked  again  in  the  same  manner  as  before; 
he  knocked  this  man  down  in  like  manner  as  the 
former,  then  ran  on  again;  and  before  he  reached 
home  he  was  assaulted  the  third  time.  In  striking 
the  last  one  he  dislocated  his  thumb,  which,  however, 
he  did  not  notice  until  he  came  within  sight  of  the 
house,  when  he  threw  himself  down  in  the  corner  of 
the  fence  in  order  to  recover  his  breath.  As  soon  as 
he  was  able,  he  arose  and  came  to  the  house.  He 
was  still  altogether  speechless  from  fright  and  the 
fatigue  of  running. 

After  resting  a  few  moments,  he  desired  me  to 
send  Carlos  for  my  husband,  Mr.  Knight,  and  his 
friend  Stoal,  and  have  them  go  immediately  and  see 
if  they  could  find  the  men  who  had  been  pursuing 
him.  And  after  Carlos  had  done  this,  he  wished  to 
have  him  sent  to  Hyrum's,  to  tell  him  to  bring  the 
chest. 

I  did  as  I  was  requested,  and  when  Carlos  arrived 
at  Hyrum's,  he  found  him  at  tea,  with  two  of  his 
wife's  sisters.  Just  as  Hyrum  was  raising  a  cup  to 
his  mouth  Carlos  touched  his  shoulder.  Without 
waiting  to  hear  one  word  from  the  child,  he  dropped 
the  cup,  sprang  from  the  table,  caught  the  chest, 
turned  it  upside  down,  and  emptying  its  contents  on 
the  floor,  left  the  house  instantly  with  the  chest  on 
his  shoulder. 

The  young  ladies  were  greatly  astonished  at  his 
singular  behavior,  and  declared  to  his  wife — who 
was  then  confined  to  her  bed,  her  oldest  daughter, 
Lovina,  being  but  four  days  old — ^that  he  was  cer- 
tainly crazy. 


122  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

His  wife  laughed  heartily,  and  replied,  "Oh,  not 
in  the  least ;  he  has  just  thought  of  something  which 
he  has  neglected,  and  it  is  just  like  him  to  fly  off  in 
a  tangent  when  he  thinks  of  anything  in  that  way." 

When  the  chest  came,  Joseph  locked  up  the  record, 
then  threw  himseJf  upon  the  bed,  and  after  resting  a 
little,  so  that  he  could  converse  freely,  he  arose  and 
went  into  the  kitchen,  where  he  related  his  recent  ad- 
venture to  his  father,  Mr.  Knight,  and  Mr.  Stoal, 
besides  many  others,  who  had  by  this  time  collected, 
with  the  view  of  hearing  something  in  regard  to  the 
strange  circumstance  which  had  taken  place.  He 
showed  them  his  thumb,  saying,  "I  must  stop  talk- 
ing, father,  and  get  you  to  put  my  thumb  in  place, 
for  it  is  very  painful." 

I  will  here  mention  that  my  husband,  Mr.  Knight, 
and  Mr.  Stoal,  went  in  pursuit  of  those  villains  who 
had  attempted  Joseph's  life,  but  were  not  able  to 
find  them. 

When  Joseph  first  got  the  plates,  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  stood  by,  and  said : 

"Now  you  have  got  the  record  into  your  own 
hands,  and  you  are  but  a  man,  therefore  you  will 
have  to  be  watchful  and  faithful  to  your  trust,  or 
you  will  be  overpowered  by  wicked  men,  for  they  will 
lay  every  plan  and  scheme  that  is  possible  to  get  it 
away  from  you,  and  if  you  do  not  take  heed  con- 
tinually, they  will  succeed.  While  it  was  in  my 
hands,  I  could  keep  it,  and  no  man  had  power  to 
take  it  away;  but  now  I  give  it  up  to  you.  Beware, 
and  look  well  to  your  ways,  and  you  shall  have 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


123 


power  to  retain  it,  until  the  time  for  it  to  be  trans- 
lated." 

That  of  which  I  spoke,  which  Joseph  termed  a  key, 
was  indeed,  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  Urim  and 
Thummim,  and  it  was  by  this  that  the  angel  showed 
him  many  things  which  he  saw  in  vision ;  by  which 
he  could  also  ascertain,  at  any  time,  the  approach  of 
danger,  either  to  himself  or  the  record,  and  on  ac- 
count of  which  he  always  kept  the  Urim  and  Thum- 
mim about  his  person. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

JOSEPH  BRINGS  HOME  THE  BREASTPLATE — MARTIN 
HARRIS  AND  WIFE  INTRODUCED — THE  TRANSLATION 
COMMENCES — MRS.  HARRIS  BEGINS  TO  OPPOSE  THE 
WORK. 

After  bringing  home  the  plates,  Joseph  commenced 
working  with  his  father  and  brothers  on  the  farm, 
in  order  to  be  as  near  as  possible  to  the  treasure 
which  was  confided  to  his  care. 

Soon  after  this,  he  came  in  from  work,  one  after- 
noon, and  after  remaining  a  short  time,  he  put  on 
his  great  coat,  and  left  the  house.  I  was  engaged 
at  the  time,  in  an  upper  room,  in  preparing  some 
oilcloths  for  painting.  When  he  returned,  he  re- 
quested me  to  come  down-stairs.  I  told  him  that  I 
could  not  leave  my  work  just  then,  yet  upon  his 
urgent  request,  I  finally  concluded  to  go  down  and 


124  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

see  what  he  wanted,  upon  which  he  handed  me  the 
breastplate  spoken  of  in  his  history. 

It  was  wrapped  in  a  thin  muslin  handkerchief,  so 
thin  that  I  could  see  the  glistening  metal,  and  ascer- 
tain its  proportions  without  any  difficulty. 

It  was  concave  on  one  side  and  convex  on  the 
other,  and  extended  from  the  neck  downwards  as  far 
as  the  center  of  the  stomach  of  a  man  of  extraordi- 
nary size.  It  had  four  straps  of  the  same  material 
for  the  purpose  of  fastening  it  to  the  breast,  two  of 
which  ran  back  to  go  over  the  shoulders,  and  the 
other  two  were  designed  to  fasten  to  the  hips.  They 
were  just  the  width  of  two  of  my  fingers,  (for  I 
measured  them,)  and  they  had  holes  in  the  ends  of 
them,  to  be  convenient  in  fastening. 

The  whole  plate  was  worth  at  least  five  hundred 
dollars.  After  I  had  examined  it,  Joseph  placed  it 
in  the  chest  with  the  Urim  and  Thummim. 

Shortly  after  this  circumstance,  Joseph  came  to 
the  house  in  great  haste,  and  inquired  if  there  had 
been  a  company  of  men  about.  I  told  him  not  .a 
single  individual  had  come  to  the  house  since  he  left. 
He  then  said  that  a  mob  would  be  there  that  night,  if 
they  did  not  come  before  that  time,  to  search  for 
the  record,  and  that  it  must  be  removed  immediately. 

Soon  afterwards,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Braman 
came  in  from  the  village  of  Livonia,  a  man  in  whom 
we  reposed  much  confidence,  and  who  was  well 
worthy  of  the  same.  Joseph  told  him  his  appre- 
hensions of  a  mob  being  there  that  night,  and  that 
they  must  prepare  themselves  to  drive  them  away; 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


125 


but  that  the  first  thing  to  be  attended  to,  was  to 
secure  the  record  and  the  breastplate. 

In  view  of  this  it  was  determined  that  a  portion  of 
the  hearth  should  be  taken  up,  and  that  the  record 
and  breastplate  should  be  buried  under  the  same,  and 
then  the  hearth  be  relaid,  to  prevent  suspicion. 

This  was  done  as  speedily  as  possible,  but  the 
hearth  was  scarcely  relaid  when  a  large  company 
of  men,  well  armed,  came  rushing  up  to  the  house. 
Joseph  threw  open  the  door,  and  taking  a  hint  from 
the  stratagem  of  his  grandfather  Mack,  hallooed  as 
if  he  had  a  legion  at  hand,  in  the  meanwhile  giving 
the  word  of  command  with  great  emphasis ;  while  all 
the  male  portion  of  the  family,  from  the  father  down 
to  little  Carlos,  ran  out  of  the  house  with  such  fury 
upon  the  mob,  that  it  struck  them  with  terror  and 
dismay,  and  they  fled  before  the  little  Spartan  band 
into  the  woods,  when  they  dispersed  themselves  to 
their  several  homes. 

In  a  short  time  Joseph  received  another  intimation 
of  the  approach  of  a  mob,  also  of  the  necessity  of 
removing  the  record  and  breastplate  from  the  place 
wherein  they  were  secreted;  consequently  he  took 
them  out  of  the  box  in  which  they  were  placed,  and 
wrapping  them  in  clothes,  carried  them  across  the 
road  to  a  cooper's  shop,  and  laid  them  in  a  quantity 
of  flax,  which  was  stowed  in  the  shop  loft.  After 
which  he  nailed  up  the  box  again,  then  tore  up  the 
floor  of  the  shop,  and  put  it  under  the  same. 

As  soon  as  night  came,  the  mob  came  also,  and 
commenced  ransacking  the  place.  They  rummaged 
round  the  house,  and  all  over  the  premises,  but  did 


126  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

not  come  into  the  house.  After  making  satisfactory 
search  they  went  away. 

The  next  morning  we  found  the  floor  of  the  coop- 
er's shop  torn  up,  and  the  box  which  was  laid  under 
it  shivered  in  pieces. 

In  a  few  days  afterwards  we  learned  the  cause  of 
this  last  move — why  their  curiosity  led  them  in  the 
direction  of  the  cooper's  shop.  A  young  woman  by 
the  name  of  Chase,  sister  to  Willard  Chase,  found  a 
green  glass,  through  which  she  could  see  many  very 
wonderful  things,  and  among  her  great  discoveries 
she  said  that  she  saw  the  precise  place  where  "Joe 
Smith  kept  his  gold  bible  hid,"  and  obedient  to  her 
directions,  the  mob  gathered  their  forces  and  laid 
seige  to  the  cooper's  shop. 

Notwithstanding  their  disappointment  in  not  find- 
ing the  plates  in  the  shop,  their  confidence  was  not  in 
the  least  shaken  in  Miss  Chase,  for  they  still  went 
from  place  to  place  by  her  direction,  determined  to 
get,  if  possible  the  much  desired  object  of  their 
search. 

Not  long  after  the  circumstance  of  the  mob's  going 
into  the  cooper's  shop,  and  splitting  in  pieces  the  box, 
Joseph  began  to  make  arrangements  to  accomplish 
the  translation  of  the  record.  The  first  step  that  he 
was  instructed  to  take  in  regard  to  this  work,  was  to 
make  a  facsimile  of  some  of  the  characters,  which 
were  called  reformed  Egyptian,  and  to  send  them  to 
some  of  the  most  learned  men  of  this  generation, 
and  ask  them  for  the  translation  thereof. 

The  reader  will  here  observe,  that  on  a  preceding 
page  of  this  volume,  I  spoke  of  a  confidential  friend 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


127 


to  whom  my  husband  merely  mentioned  the  existence 
of  the  plates,  some  two  or  three  years  prior  to  their 
coming  forth.  This  was  no  other  than  Martin  Harris, 
one  of  the  witnesses  to  the  book  subsequent  to  its 
being  translated. 

With  the  view  of  commencing  the  work  of  trans- 
lation, and  carrying  it  forward  as  speedily  as  cir- 
cumstances would  permit,  Joseph  came  to  me  one 
afternoon  and  requested  me  to  go  to  this  Mr.  Harris, 
and  inform  him  that  he  had  got  the  plates,  and  that 
he  desired  to  see  Mr.  Harris  concerning  the  matter. 
This,  indeed,  was  an  errand  which  I  much  disliked, 
as  Mr.  Harris's  wife  was  a  very  peculiar  woman,  one 
that  was  naturally  of  a  very  jealous  disposition; 
besides  this,  she  was  rather  dull  of  hearing,  and 
when  anything  was  said  that  she  did  not  hear  dis- 
tinctly, she  suspected  that  it  was  some  secret,  which 
was  designedly  kept  from  her.  So  I  told  Joseph 
that  I  would  rather  not  go,  unless  I  could  have  the 
privilege  of  speaking  to  her  first  upon  the  subject. 
To  this  he  consented,  and  I  went  according  to  his 
request. 

On  arriving  at  Mr,  Harris's  I  cautiously  detailed 
the  particulars  with  regard  to  Joseph's  finding  the 
plates,  so  far  as  wisdom  dictated  and  necessity  de- 
manded, in  order  to  satisfy  Mrs.  Harris's  curiosity. 
However,  she  did  not  wait  for  me  to  get  through 
with  my  story,  before  she  commenced  urging  upon 
me  a  considerable  amount  of  money,  tnat  she  had  at 
her  command.  Her  husband  always  allowed  her  to 
keep  a  private  purse,  in  order  to  satisfy  her  singular 
disposition,  and  it  was  this  private  money  that  she 


128  JOSEPH   SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

wished  me  to  receive.  She  also  had  a  sister  living 
with  her  who  desired  me  to  receive  an  amount  of 
money,  I  think  some  seventy-five  dollars,  to  assist  in 
getting  the  record  translated. 

I  told  her  that  I  came  on  no  such  business,  that 
I  did  not  want  her  money,  and  that  Joseph  would 
attend  to  his  own  affairs;  but,  that  I  would  like  to 
talk  with  Mr.  Harris  a  moment,  and  then  return 
home,  as  my  family  would  soon  be  expecting  me. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  she  was  determined  to 
assist  in  the  business,  for  she  said  she  knew  that  we 
should  want  money,  and  she  could  spare  two  hun- 
dred dollars  as  well  as  not. 

After  detaining  me  a  few  minutes,  she  went  with 
me  to  her  husband,  and  told  him  that  I  wished  to 
speak  to  him.  He  replied  that  he  was  not  going  to 
stop  his  work,  for  he  was  just  laying  the  last  brick 
in  his  hearth. 

"You  see,"  said  he,  "this  is  the  last  work  I  shall 
do  about  the  house,  or  on  the  farm,  in  one  year. 
And  when  this  is  done,  I  am  going  to  hire  a  hand  to 
work  a  year  for  me,  as  I  shall  travel  that  length  of 
time  before  I  shall  settle  myself  at  home  again." 

After  completing  the  work  in  which  he  was  en- 
gaged, he  left  the  house,  but  was  absent  only  a  short 
time.  On  returning,  he  came  to  me  and  said,  "Now 
I  am  a  free  man — my  hands  are  altogether  untied — 
I  can  come  and  go  and  do  as  I  please." 

I  related,  in  short,  the  errand  on  which  I  had 
come.  He  said  that  he  would  see  Joseph  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days.  At  this  his  wife  exclaimed, 
"Yes,  and  I  am  coming  to  see  him  too,  and  I  will  be 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


129 


tnere  on  I'uesday  afternoon,  and  will  stop  over 
night." 

Accordingly,  when  Tuesday  afternoon  arrived, 
Mrs.  Harris  made  her  appearance,  and  as  soon  as 
she  was  well  seated,  she  began  to  importune  my  son 
relative  to  the  truth  of  what  he  had  said  concerning 
the  record,  declaring  that  if  he  really  had  any  plates, 
she  would  see  them,  and  that  she  was  determined  to 
help  him  publish  them. 

He  told  her  that  she  was  mistaken — that  she  could 
not  see  them,  for  he  was  not  permitted  to  exhibit 
them  to  any  one,  except  those  whom  the  Lord  should 
appoint  to*  testify  of  them.  "And,  in  relation  to 
assistance,"  he  observed,  "I  always  prefer  dealing 
with  men,  rather  than  their  wives." 

This  highly  displeased  Mrs.  Harris,  for  she  con- 
sidered herself  altogether  superior  to  her  husband, 
and  she  continued  her  importunities.  She  would  say, 
"Now,  Joseph,  are  you  not  telling  me  a  lie?  Can  you 
look  full  in  my  eye,  and  say  before  God  that  you  have 
in  reality  found  a  record,  as  you  pretend?" 

To  this,  Joseph  replied,  rather  indifferently, 
"Why,  yes,  Mrs.  Harris,  I  would  as  soon  look  you  in 
the  face  and  say  so  as  not,  if  that  will  be  any  grati- 
fication to  you." 

Then  said  she,  "Joseph,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  will 
do;  if  I  can  get  a  witness  that  you  speak  the  truth, 
I  will  believe  all  you  say  about  the  matter,  and  I  shall 
want  to  do  something  about  the  translation — I  mean 
to  help  you  any  way." 

This  closed  the  evening's  conversation.  The  next 
morning,  soon  after  she  arose,  she  related  a  very 


130  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

remarkable  dream  which  she  had  had  during  the 
night.  It  ran  about  as  follows:  She  said  that  a 
personage  appeared  to  her,  who  told  her  that  as 
she  had  disputed  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  and 
said  his  word  was  not  to  be  believed,  and  had  also 
asked  him  many  improper  questions,  she  had  done 
that  which  was  not  right  in  the  sight  of  God.  After 
which  he  said  to  her,  "Behold,  here  are  the  plates, 
look  upon  them  and  believe." 

After  giving  us  an  account  of  her  dream,  she  de- 
scribed the  record  very  minutely,  then  told  us  that 
she  had  made  up  her  mind  in  relation  to  the  course 
which  she  intended  to  pursue,  namely,  that  she  had 
in  her  possession  twenty-eight  dollars  which  she 
received  from  her  mother  just  before  she  died,  while 
she  was  on  her  death-bed,  and  that  Joseph  should 
accept  it.  If  he  would  he  might  give  his  note,  but 
he  should  certainly  take  it  upon  some  terms. 

The  last  proposal  Joseph  accepted,  in  order  to  get 
rid  of  further  importunity  upon  the  subject. 

Soon  afterwards,  Alva  Hale,  Joseph's  brother-in- 
law,  came  to  our  house  from  Pennsylvania  for  the 
purpose  of  moving  Joseph  to  his  father-in-law's,  as 
word  had  been  sent  to  them  that  Joseph  desired  to 
move  there  as  soon  as  he  could  settle  up  his  business. 
During  the  short  interval  of  Alva's  stay  with  us,  he 
and  Joseph  were  one  day  in  Palmyra,  at  a  public- 
house  transacting  some  business.  As  they  were 
thus  engaged,  Mr.  Harris  came  in;  he  stepped  im- 
mediately up  to  my  son,  and  taking  him  by  the  hand 
said,  "How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Smith?"  After  which 
he  took  a  hag  of  silver  from  his  pocket,  and  said 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


131 


again,  "Here,  Mr.  Smith,  is  fifty  dollars ;  I  give  this 
to  you  to  do  the  Lord's  work  with ;  no,  I  give  it  to  the 
Lord  for  his  own  work." 

"No,"  said  Joseph;  "we  will  give  you  a  note;  Mr. 
Hale,  I  presume,  will  sign  it  with  me." 

"Yes,"  said  Alva,  "I  will  sign  it." 

Mr.  Harris,  however,  insisted  that  he  would  give 
the  money  to  the  Lord,  and  called  those  present  to 
witness  the  fact  that  he  gave  it  freely,  and  did  not 
aemand  any  compensation,  that  is  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  helping  Mr.  Smith  to  do  the  Lord's  work. 
And  as  I  have  been  informed,  many  were  present  on 
that  occasion,  who  witnessed  the  same  circumstance. 

Joseph,  in  a  short  time,  arranged  his  affairs,  and 
was  ready  for  the  journey.  The  record  and  breast- 
plate, for  security,  he  nailed  up  in  a  box  and  then 
put  them  into  a  strong  cask;  and  after  filling  the 
cask  with  beans,  headed  it  up  again. 

When  it  became  generally  known  that  Joseph  was 
about  moving  to  Pennsylvania,  a  mob  of  fifty  men 
collected  themselves  together,  and  they  went  to  one 
Doctor  Mclntyre,  and  requested  him  to  take  the  com- 
mand of  the  company,  stating,  that  they  were 
resolved  on  following  "Joe  Smith,"  and  taking  his 
"gold  bible"  from  him.  The  doctor's  ideas  and  feel- 
ings did  not  altogether  harmonize  with  theirs,  and 
he  told  them  they  were  a  pack  of  devilish  fools,  and 
to  go  home  and  mind  their  own  business;  that,  if 
Joseph  Smith  had  any  business  of  that  sort  to  attend 
to,  he  was  capable  of  doing  it,  and  that  it  would  be 
better  for  them  to  busy  themselves  about  that  which 
more  concerned  them. 


1 


132  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

After  this  a  quarrel  arose  among  them  respecting 
who  should  be  captain,  and  it  ran  so  high  that  it 
broke  up  the  expedition. 

When  Joseph  had  had  sufficient  time  to  accomplish 
the  journey,  and  transcribe  some  of  the  Egyptian 
characters,  it  was  agreed  that  Martin  Harris  should 
follow  him — and  that  he  (Martin)  should  take  the 
characters  to  the  East,  and,  on  his  way,  he  was  to 
call  on  all  the  professed  linguists,  in  order  to  give 
them  an  opportunity  to  display  their  talents  in  giv- 
ing a  translation  of  the  characters. 

When  Mrs.  Harris  heard  of  what  her  husband  had 
in  contemplation,  she  resolved  to  accompany  him; 
but  he,  concluding  that  it  would  be  better  to  go  with- 
out her,  left  quite  suddenly  without  her  knowledge, 
in  company  with  my  son  Hyrum. 

Mrs.  Harris  soon  missed  her  husband,  and  came 
to  me,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  if  I  knew 
where  he  was.  I  told  her  what  he  had  said  concern- 
ing his  leaving,  suppressing,  hoAvever,  his  remarks 
pertaining  to  herself. 

On  hearing  this,  she  became  highly  exasperated, 
and  charged  me  with  planning  the  whole  affair.  1 
protested  against  it,  asserting  that  I  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  plan,  nor  the  execution  of  it.  Further- 
more, that  the  business  of  the  house,  which  was  the 
natural  care  of  a  woman,  was  all  that  I  attempted 
to  dictate,  or  interfere  with,  unless  it  was  by  my 
husband's  or  son's  request. 

Mrs.  Harris  then  observed  that  she  had  property, 
and  knew  how  to  take  care  of  it,  which  she  would 
convince  me  of. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


133 


"Now,  stop,"  said  I,  "do  you  not  know  that  we 
have  never  asked  you  for  money  or  property?  and 
that  if  we  had  been  disposed  to  take  advantage  of 
your  liberahty,  could  we  not  have  got,  at  least,  two 
hundred  and  seventy  dollars  of  your  cash?"  She 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  notwithstanding  she 
went  home  in  a  great  rage,  determined  to  have  satis- 
faction for  the  treatment  which  she  had  received. 

In  a  short  time  Mr.  Harris  returned,  and  his 
wife's  anger  kindled  afresh  at  his  presence,  inso- 
much that  she  prepared  a  separate  bed  and  room  for 
him,  which  room  she  refused  to  enter. 

A  young  man  by  the  name  of  Dikes  had  been 
paying  some  attention  to  Miss  Lucy,  Martin  Harris's 
oldest  daughter.  To  this  young  man  Mr.  Harris 
was  quite  attached,  and  his  daughter  Lucy  was  by 
no  means  opposed  to  him ;  but  Mrs.  Harris,  of  course, 
was  decidedly  upon  the  negative.  However,  just  at 
this  crisis,  a  scheme  entered  her  brain  which  mate- 
rially changed  her  deportment  to  Mr.  Dikes.  She 
told  him,  if  he  would  manage  to  get  the  Egyptian 
characters  from  Mr.  Harris's  possession,  and  pro- 
cure a  room  in  Palmyra  for  the  purpose  of  tran- 
scribing them,  and  then  bring  her  the  transcript, 
that  she  would  consent  to  his  marriage  with  her 
daughter  Lucy. 

To  this  Mr.  Dikes  cheerfully  consented,  and  suffice 
it  to  say  he  succeeded  to  her  satisfaction,  and  thus 
received  the  promised  reward. 

When  Mr.  Harris  began  to  make  preparations 
to  start  for  Pennsylvania  the  second  time,  with  the 
view  of  writing  lor  Joseph,  his  wife  told  him  that 


134  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

she  had  fully  decreed  in  her  heart  to  accompany 
him.  Mr.  Harris  having  no  particular  objections, 
informed  her  that  she  might  do  so;  that  she  might 
go  and  stay  one  or  two  weeks,  and  then  he  would 
bring  her  home  again,  after  which  he  would  return, 
and  resume  his  writing  for  Joseph.  To  this  she 
cheerfully  agreed.  But  Mr.  Harris  little  suspected 
what  he  had  to  encounter  by  this  move.  The  first 
time  he  exhibited  the  characters  before  named,  she 
took  out  of  her  pocket  an  exact  copy  of  the  same, 
and  told  those  present,  that  "Joe  Smith"  was  not 
the  only  one  who  was  in  possession  of  this  great 
curiosity,  that  she  had  the  same  characters,  and  they 
were  quite  as  genuine  as  those  shown  by  Mr.  Harris. 
This  course  she  continued  to  pursue,  until  they 
arrived  at  Joseph's. 

As  soon  as  she  arrived  there  she  informed  him 
that  her  object  in  coming  was  to  see  the  plates,  and 
that  she  would  never  leave  until  she  had  accom- 
plished it.  Accordingly,  without  delay,  she  com- 
menced ransacking  every  nook  and  corner  about  the 
nouse — chests,  trunks,  cupboards,  etc. ;  consequently, 
Joseph  was  under  the  necessity  of  removing  both 
the  breastplate  and  the  record  from  the  house,  and 
secreting  them  elsewhere.  Not  finding  them  in  the 
house,  she  concluded  that  Joseph  had  buried  them, 
and  the  next  day  she  commenced  searching  out  of 
doors,  which  she  continuefl  to  do  until  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  She  then  came  in  rather 
ill-natured.  After  warming  herself  a  little,  she 
asked  Joseph's  wife  if  there  were  snakes  in  that 
country  in  the  winter.    She  replied  in  the  negative. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


135 


Mrs.  Harris  then  said,  "I  have  been  walking  around 
in  the  woods  to  look  at  the  situation  of  your  place, 
and  as  I  turned  around  to  come  home,  a  tremendous 
black  snake  stuck  up  his  head  before  me,  and  com- 
menced hissing  at  me," 

The  woman  was  so  perplexed  and  disappointed 
in  all  her  undertakings,  that  she  left  the  house  and 
took  lodgings  during  her  stay  in  Pennsylvania  with 
a  near  neighbor,  to  whom  bhe  stated  that  the  day 
previous  she  had  been  hunting  for  the  plates,  and 
that,  after  a  tedious  search,  she  at  length  came  to  a 
spot  where  she  judged,  from  the  appearance  of 
things,  they  must  be  buried ;  but  upon  stooping  down 
to  scrape  away  the  snow  and  leaves,  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  fact,  she  encountered  a  horrible  black 
snake,  which  gave  her  a  terrible  fright,  and  she  ran 
with  all  possible  speed  to  the  house. 

While  this  woman  remained  in  the  neighborhood, 
she  did  all  that  lay  in  her  power  to  injure  Joseph 
in  the  estimation  of  his  neighbors — telling  them  that 
he  was  a  grand  impostor,  and,  that  by  his  specious 
pretentions,  he  had  seduced  her  husband  into  the 
belief  that  he  (Joseph  Smith)  was  some  great  one, 
merely  through  a  design  upon  her  husband's 
property. 

When  she  returned  home,  being  about  two  weeks 
after  her  arrival  in  Harmony,  the  place  where 
Joseph  resided,  she  endeavored  to  dissuade  her  hus- 
band from  taking  any  further  part  in  the  publication 
of  the  record;  however,  Mr.  Harris  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  her,  but  returned  and  continued  writing. 

Immediately  after  Martin  Harris  left  home  for 


136  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


Pennsylvania,  his  wife  went, from  place  to  place, 
and  from  house  to  house,  telling  her  grievances, 
and  declaring  that  Joseph  Smith  was  practicing 
a  deception  upon  the  people,  which  was  about  to 
strip  her  of  all  that  she  possessed,  and  that  she  was 
compelled  to  deposit  a  few  things  away  from  home 
in  order 'to  secure  them.  So  she  carried  away  her 
furniture,  linen,  and  bedding;  also  other  movable 
articles,  until  she  nearly  stripped  the  premises  of 
everything  that  could  conduce  either  to  comfort  or 
convenience,  depositing  them  with  those  of  her 
friends  and  acquaintances  in  whom  she  reposed  suffi- 
cient confidence  to  assure  her  of  their  future  safety. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MARTIN  HARRIS  IS  PERMITTED  TO  TAKE  THE  MANU- 
SCRIPT HOME  WITH  HIM — HE  LOSES  IT — THE 
SEASON  OF  MOURNING  WHICH  ENSUED. 

Martin  Harris,  having  written  some  one  hundred 
and  sixteen  pages  for  Joseph,  asked  permission  of 
my  son  to  carry  the  manuscript  home  with  him,  in 
order  to  let  his  wife  read  it,  as  he  hoped  it  might 
have  a  salutary  effect  upon  her  feelings. 

Joseph  was  willing  to  gratify  his  friend  as  far 
as  he  could  consistently,  and  he  inquired  of  the  Lord 
to  know  if  he  might  do  as  Martin  Harris  had  re- 
quested, but  was  refused.  With  this  Mr.  Harris 
was  not  altogether  satisfied,  and,  at   his  urgent 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


137 


request,  Joseph  inquired  again,  but  received  a  second 
refusal.  Still,  Martin  Harris  persisted  as  before, 
and  Joseph  applied  again,  but  the  last  answer  was 
not  like  the  two  f  ormer  ones.  In  this  the  Lord  per- 
mitted Martin  Harris  to  take  the  manuscript  home 
with  him,  on  condition  that  he  would  exhibit  it  to 
none,  save  five  individuals  whom  he  had  mentioned, 
and  who  belonged  to  his  own  family. 

Mr.  Harris  was  delighted  with  this,  and  bound 
himself  in  a  written  covenant  of  the  most  solemn 
nature,  that  he  would  strictly  comply  with  the 
injunctions  which  he  had  received.  Which  being 
done,  he  took  the  manuscript  and  went  home. 

Joseph  did  not  suspect  but  that  his  friend  would 
keep  his  faith,  consequently  he  gave  himself  no 
uneasiness  with  regard  to  the  matter. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Harris  left,  Joseph's  wife 
became  the  mother  of  a  son,  which,  however,  re- 
mained with  her  but  a  short  time  before  it  was 
snatched  from  her  arms  by  the  hand  of  death.  And 
the  mother  seemed,  for  some  time,  more  like  sink- 
ing with  her  infant  into  the  mansion  of  the  dead, 
than  remaining  with  her  husband  among  the  living. 
Her  situation  was  such  for  two  weeks,  that  Joseph 
slept  not  an  hour  in  undisturbed  quiet.  At  the 
expiration  of  this  time  she  began  to  recover,  but, 
as  Joseph's  anxiety  about  her  began  to  subside, 
another  cause  of  trouble  forced  itself  upon  his  mind. 
Mr.  Harris  had  been  absent  nearly  three  weeks,  and 
Joseph  had  received  no  intelligence  whatever  from 
him,  which  was  altogether  aside  of  the  arrangement 
when  they  separated.    But  Joseph  kept  his  feelings 


138  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


from  his  wife,  fearing  that  if  she  became  acquainted 
with  them  it  might  agitate  her  too  much. 

In  a  few  days,  however,  she  mentioned  the  sub- 
ject herself,  and  desired  her  husband  to  go  and  get 
her  mother  to  stay  with  her,  while  he  should  repair 
to  Palmyra,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  cause  of 
Mr.  Harris's  absence  as  well  as  silence.  At  first 
Joseph  objected,  but  seeing  her  so  cheerful,  and  so 
willing  to  have  him  leave  home,  he  finally  consented. 

He  set  out  in  the  first  stage  that  passed  for  Pal- 
myra, and,  when  he  was  left  to  himself,  he  began 
to  contemplate  the  course  which  Martin  had  taken, 
and  the  risk  which  he  (Joseph)  had  run  in  letting 
the  manuscript  go  out  of  his  own  hands — for  it 
could  not  be  obtained  again,  in  case  Martin  had  lost 
it  through  transgression,  except  by  the  power  of 
God,  which  was  something  Joseph  could  hardly  hope 
for — and  that,  by  persisting  in  his  entreaties  to  the 
Lord,  he  had  perhaps  fallen  into  transgression,  and 
thereby  lost  the  manuscript.  When,  I  say,  he  began 
to  contemplate  these  things,  they  troubled  his  spirit, 
and  his  soul  was  moved  with  fearful  apprehensions. 
And,  although  he  was  now  nearly  worn  out,  sleep 
fled  from  his  eyes,  neither  had  he  any  desire  for 
food,  for  he  felt  that  he  had  done  wrong,  and  how 
great  his  condemnation  was  he  did  not  know. 

Only  one  passenger  was  in  the  stage  besides  him- 
self. This  man,  observing  Joseph's  gloomy  appear- 
ance, inquired  the  cause  of  his  affliction,  and  offered 
to  assist  him  if  bis  services  would  be  acceptable. 
Joseph  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  and  men- 
tioned that  he  had  been  watching  some  time  with 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


139 


a  sick  wife  and  child,  that  the  child  had  died,  and 
that  his  wife  was  still  very  low;  but  refrained  from 
giving  any  further  explanation.  Nothing  m-ore 
passed  between  them  on  this  subject,  until  Joseph 
was  about  leaving  the  stage;  at  which  time  he  re- 
marked that  he  still  had  twenty  miles  further  to 
travel  on  foot  that  night,  it  being  then  about  ten 
o'clock.  To  this  the  stranger  objected,  saying,  "I 
have  watched  you  since  you  first  entered  the  stage, 
and  I  know  that  you  have  neither  slept  nor  eaten 
since  that  time,  and  you  shall  not  go  on  foot  twenty 
miles  alone  this  night;  for,  if  you  must  go,  I  will 
be  your  company.  Now  tell  me  what  can  be  the 
trouble  that  makes  you  thus  dispirited?" 

Joseph  replied,  about  as  before — ^that  he  had  left 
his  wife  in  so  low  a  state  of  health,  that  he  feared 
he  should  not  find  her  alive  when  he  returned; 
besides,  he  had  buried  his  first  and  only  child  but 
a  few  days  previous.  This  was  true,  though  there 
was  another  trouble  lying  at  his  heart,  which  he 
dared  not  to  mention. 

The  stranger  then  observed,  "I  feel  to  sympathize 
with  you,  and  I  fear  that  your  constitution,  which 
is  evidently  not  strong,  will  be  inadequate  to 'Support 
you.  You  will  be  in  danger  of  falling  asleep  in  the 
forest,  and  of  meeting  with  some  awful  disaster." 

Joseph  again  thanked  the  gentleman  for  his  kind- 
ness, and,  leaving  the  stage,  they  proceeded  together. 
When  they  reached  our  house  it  was  nearly  daylight. 
The  stranger  said  he  was  under  the  necessity  of 
leading  Joseph  the  last  four  miles  by  the  arm;  for 
nature  was  too  much  exhausted  to  support  him  any 


140  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

longer,  and  he  would  fall  asleep  as  he  was  walking 
along,  every  few  minutes,  towards  the  last  of  this 
distance. 

On  entering  our  house,  the  stranger  remarked 
that  he  had  brought  our  son  through  the  forest, 
because  he  had  insisted  on  coming ;  that  he  was  sick, 
and  needed  rest,  as  well  as  refreshment,  and  that 
he  ought  to  have  some  pepper  tea  to  warm  his  stom- 
ach. After  thus  directing  us,  relative  to  our  son, 
he  said  that  when  we  had  attended  to  Joseph  he 
would  thank  us  for  a  little  breakfast  for  himself, 
as  he  was  in  haste  to  be  on  his  journey  again. 

When  Joseph  had  taken  a  little  nourishment, 
according  to  the  directions  of  the  stranger,  he 
requested  us  to  send  immediately  for  Mr.  Harris. 
This  we  did  without  delay.  And  when  we  had  given 
the  stranger  his  breakfast,  we  commenced  preparing 
breakfast  for  the  family;  and  we  supposed  that  Mr. 
Hai'ris  would  be  there,  as  soon  as  it  was  ready,  to 
eat  with  us,  for  he  generally  came  in  such  haste 
when  he  was  sent  for.  At  eight  o'clock  we '  set  the 
victuals  on  the  table,  as  we  were  expecting  him 
every  moment.  We  waited  till  nine,  and  he  came 
not — till  ten,  and  he  was  not  there — ^till  eleven,  still 
he  did  not  make  his  appearance.  But  at  half-past 
twelve  we  saw  him  walking  with  a  slow  and 
measured  tread  towards  the  house,  his  eyes  fixed 
thoughtfully  upon  the  ground.  On  coming  to  the  gate, 
he  stopped,  instead  of  passing  through,  and  got  upon 
the  fence,  and  sat  there  some  time  with  his  hat 
drawn  over  his  eyes.  At  length  he  entered  the 
house.    Soon  after  which  we  sat  down  to  the  table. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


141 


Mr.  Harris  with  the  rest.  He  took  up  his  knife 
and  fork  as  if  he  were  going  to  use  them,  but 
immediately  dropped  them.  Hyrum,  observing 
this,  said,  "Martin,  why  do  you  not  eat?  are  you 
sick?"  Upon  which  Mr.  Harris  pressed  his  hands 
upon  his  temples,  and  cried  out  in  a  tone  of  deep 
anguish,  "Oh,  I  have  lost  my  soul!  I  have  lost  my 
soul!" 

Joseph,  who  had  not  expressed  his  fears  till  now, 
sprang  from  the  table,  exclaiming,  "Martin,  have 
you  lost  that  manuscript?  Have  you  broken  your 
oath,  and  brought  down  condemnation  upon  my 
head,  as  well  as  your  own?" 

"Yes,  it  is  gone,"  replied  Martin,  "and  I  know 
not  where." 

"Oh,  my  God!"  said  Joseph,  clinching  his  hands. 
'•All  is  lost!  all  is  lost!  What  shall  I  do?  I  have 
sinned — it  is  I  who  tempted  the  wrath  of  God.  I 
should  have  been  satisfied  with  the  first  answer 
which  I  received  from  the  Lord ;  for  he  told  me  that 
it  was  not  safe  to  let  the  writing  go  out  of  my  pos- 
session." He  wept  and  groaned,  and  walked  the 
floor  continually. 

At  length  he  told  Martin  to  go  back  and  search 
again. 

"No,"  said  Martin,  "it  is  all  in  vain;  for  I  have 
ripped  open  beds  and  pillows,  and  I  know  it  is  not 
there." 

"Then  must  1,"  said  Joseph,  "return  to  my  wife 
with  such  a  tale  as  this?  I  dare  not  do  it,  lest  it 
should  kill  her  at  once.    And  how  shall  I  appear 


142  JOSEPH   SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

before  the  Lord?  Of  what  rebuke  am  I  not  worthy 
from  the  angel  of  the  Most  High?" 

I  bes-ought  him  not  to  mourn  so,  for  perhaps  the 
Lord  would  forgive  him,  after  a  short  season  of 
humiliation  and  repentance.  But  what  could  I  say 
to  comfort  him,  when  he  saw  all  the  family  in  the 
same  situation  of  mind  as  himself?  for  sobs  and 
groans,  and  the  most  bitter  lamentations  filled  the 
house.  However,  Joseph  was  more  distressed  than 
the  rest,  as  he  better  understood  the  consequences  of 
disobedience.  And  he  continued  pacing  back  and 
forth,  meantime  weeping  and  grieving,  until  about 
sunset,  when,  by  persuasion,  he  took  a  little  nourish- 
ment. 

The  next  morning  he  set  out  for  home.  We  parted 
with  heavy  hearts,  for  it  now  appeared  that  all 
which  we  had  so  fondly  anticipated,  and  which  had 
been  the  source  of  so  much  secret  gratification,  had 
in  a  moment  fled,  and  fled  for  ever. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


143 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

MARTIN  HARRIS'S  PERFIDY. 

I  will  now  give  a  sketch  of  the  proceeding  of 
Martin  Harris  during  the  time  he  was  absent  from 
Joseph. 

After  leaving  Joseph  he  arrived  at  home  with  the 
manuscript  in  safety.  Soon  after  he  exhibited  the 
manuscript  to  his  wife  and  •family.  His  wife  was 
so  pleased  with  it  that  she  gave  him  the  privilege 
of  locking  it  up  in  her  own  set  of  drawers,  which 
was  a  special  favor,  for  she  had  never  before  this 
allowed  him  even  the  privilege  of  Looking  into  them. 
After  he  had  shown  the  manuscript  to  those  who 
had  a  right,  according  to  his  oath,  to  see  it,  he  went 
with  his  wife  to  visit  one  of  her  relatives,  who 
lived  some  ten  or  fifteen  miles  distant. 

After  remaining  with  them  a  short  time,  he 
returned  home,  but  his  wife  declined  accompanying 
him  back.  Soon  after  his  return,  a  very  particular 
friend  of  his  made  him  a  visit,  to  whom  he  related 
all  that  he  knew  concerning  the  record.  The  man's 
curiosity  was  much  excited,  and,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, he  earnestly  desired  to  see  the  manuscript. 
Martin  was  so  anxious  to  gratify  his  friend,  that, 
although  it  was  contrary  to  his  obligation,  he  went 
to  the  drawer  to  get  the  manuscript,  but  the  key 
was  gone.  He  sought  for  it  some  time,  but  could 
not  find  it.  Resolved,  however,  to  carry  his  pur- 
pose into  execution,  he  picked  the  lock,  and,  in  so 


■  # 

144  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

doing,  considerably  injured  his  wife's  bureau.  He 
then  took  out  the  manuscript,  and,  after  showing 
it  to  his  friend,  he  removed  it  to  his  own  set  of 
drawers,  where  he  could  have  it  at  his  command. 
Passing  by  his  oath,  he  showed  it  to  any  good  friend 
that  happened  to  call  on  him. 

When  Mrs.  Harris  returned,  and  discovered  the 
marred  state  of  her  bureau,  her  irascible  temper 
was  excited  to  the  utmost  pitch,  and  an  intolerable 
storm  ensued,  which  descended  with  the  greatest 
violence  upon  the  devoid  head  of  her  husband. 

Having  once  made  a  sacrifice  of  his  conscience, 
Mr.  Harris  no  longer  regarded  its  scruples;  so  he 
continued  to  exhibit  the  writings,  until  a  short  time 
before  Joseph  arrived,  to  any  one  whom  he  regarded 
as  prudent  enough  to  keep  the  secret,  except  our 
family,  but  tve  were  not  allowed  to  set  our  eyes 
upon  them. 

For  a  short  time  previous  to  Joseph's  arrival,  Mr. 
fiarris  had  been  otherwise  engaged,  and  thought 
but  little  about  the  manuscript.  When  Joseph  sent 
for  him,  he  went  immediately  to  the  drawer  where 
he  had  left  it,  but,  behold  it  was  gone!  He  asked 
his  wife  where  it  was.  She  solemnly  averred  that 
she  did  not  know  anj-thing  respecting  it.  He  then 
made  a  faithful  search  throughout  the  house,  as 
before  related.* 

'In  1860,  when  conversing  with  Martin  Harris,  at  Kirtland, 
Ohio,  in  respect  to  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  the  prophetic 
mission  of  Joseph  the  Martyr,  he  in  reply  to  direct  inquiries, 
told  me  that  he  obtained  the  one  hundred  and  sixteen  pages 
manuscript  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  from  Joseph,  and  took 
them  to  his  home,  where  he  read  them  in  the  evenings  to  his 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


145 


The  manuscript  has  never  been  found;  and  there 
is  no  doubt  but  Mrs.  Harris  took  it  from  the  drawer, 
with  the  view  of  retaining  it,  until  another  transla- 
tion should  be  given,  then,  to  alter  the  original  trans- 
lation, for  the  purpose  of  showing  a  discrepancy 
between  them,  and  thus  make  the  whole  appear  to 
be  a  deception. 

It  seemed  as  though  Llartin  Harris,  for  his  trans- 
gression, suffered  temporally  as  well  as  spiritually. 
The  same  day  on  which  the  foregoing  circumstance 
took  place,  a  dense  fog  spread  itself  over  his  fields, 
and  blighted  his  wheat  while  in  the  blow,  so  that 
he  lost  about  two  thirds  -of  his  crop,  whilst  those 
fields  which  lay  only  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road 
received  no  injury  whatever. 

I  well  remember  that  day  of  darkness,  both  within 
and  without.  To  us,  at  least,  the  heavens  seemed 
clothed  with  blackness,  and  the  earth  shrouded  with 
gloom.  I  have  often  said  within  myself,  that  if  a 
continual  punishment,  as  severe  as  that  which  we 
experienced  on  that  occasion,  were  to  be  inflicted 
upon  the  most  wicked  characters  who  ever  stood 
upon  the  footstool  of  the  Almighty — if  even  their 
punishment  were  no  greater  than  that,  I  should  feel 
to  pity  their  condition. 

family  and  some  friends,  and  that  he  put  them  in  his  bureau 
in  the  parlor,  locking  both  bureau  and  parlor,  putting  the 
keys  of  each  in  his  pocket,  and  so  retired  for  the  night,  after 
which  he  never  saw  them.  He  seemed  to  be  still  conscience- 
smitten  for  permitting  them  to  be  stolen.  He  reaffirmed  his 
testimony,  in  substance,  as  found  in  connection  with  that 
of  0.  Cowdery  and  D.  Whitmer,  in  respect  to  the  divinity  of 
the  Book  of  Mormon.  W.  W.  Blair. 


146  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  URIM  AND  THUMMIM  ARE  TAKEN  FRO  I.I  JOSEPH 
— HE  RECEIVES  THEM  AGAIN. 

For  nearly  two  months  after  Joseph  returned  to 
his  family,  in  Pennsylvania,  we  heard  nothing  from 
him,  and  becoming  anxious  about  him,  Mr.  Smith 
and  myself  set  off  to  make  him  a  visit.  When  we 
came  within  three  quarters  of  a  mile  of  the  house, 
Joseph  started  to  meet  us,  telling  his  wife,  as  he  left, 
that  father  and  mother  were  coming.  When  he  met 
us,  his  countenance  wore  so  uleasant  an  aspect,  that 
I  was  convinced  he  naa  fomething  agreeable  to  com- 
municate with  regard  to  the  work  in  which  he  was 
engaged.  When  I  entered,  the  first  thing  which 
attracted  my  attention  was  a  red  morocco  trunk, 
lying  on  Emma's  bureau,  which  Joseph  shortly  in- 
formed me  contained  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  and 
the  plates.  And,  in  the  evening,  he  gave  us  the  fol- 
lowing relation  of  what  had  transpired  since  our 
separation : 

"On  leaving  you,"  said  Joseph,  "I  returned  im- 
mediately home.  Soon  after  my  arrival,  I  com- 
menced humbling  myself  in  mighty  prayer  before 
the  Lord,  and,  as  I  was  pouring  out  my  soul  in  sup- 
plication to  God,  that  if  possible,  I  might  obtain 
mercy  at  his  hands,  and  be  forgiven  of  all  that  I 
had  done  contrary  to  his  will,  an  angel  stood  before 
me,  and  answered  me,  saying,  that  I  had  sinned  in 
delivering  the  manuscript  into  the  hands  of  a  wicked 


*        AND  his"  PROGENITORS  147 

man,  and,  as  I  had  ventured  to  become  responsible 
for  his  faithfulness  I  would  of  necessity  have  to 
suffer  the  consequences  of  his  indiscretion,  and  I 
must  now  give  up  the  Urim  and  Thummim  into  his 
(the  angel's)  hands. 

"This  I  did  as  I  was  directed,  and  as  I  handed  them 
to  him,  he  remarked,  'If  you  are  very  humble  and 
penitent,  it  may  be  you  will  receive  them  again ;  if  so, 
it  will  be  on  the  twenty-second  of  next  September.'  " 

Joseph  then  related  a  revelation  which  he  received 
soon  after  the  angel  visited  him.  A  part  of  which  is 
as  follows : 

"Behold,  you  have  been  entrusted  with  these 
things,  but  how  strict  were  your  commandments, 
and  remember,  also,  the  promises  which  were  made 
to  you,  if  you  did  not  transgress  them;  and  behold 
how  oft  you  have  transgressed  the  commandments, 
and  the  iaws  of  God,  and  have  gone  on  in  the  persua- 
sions of  men.  For  behold,  you  should  not  have 
feared  man  more  than  God.  Although  men  set  at 
naught  the  counsels  of  God,  and  despise  his  words, 
yet  you  should  have  been  faithful,  and  he  would  have 
extended  his  arm,  and  supported  you  against  all  the 
fiery  darts  of  the  adversary,  and  he  would  have  been 
with  you  in  every  time  of  trouble. 

"Behold,  thou  art  Joseph,  and  thou  wast  chosen 
to  do  the  work  of  the  Lord;  but  because  of  trans- 
gression, if  thou  art  not  aware,  thou  wilt  fall.  But 
remember,  God  is  merciful ;  therefore,  repent  of  that 
which  thou  hast  done,  which  is  contrary  to  the  com- 
mandment which  I  gave  you,  and  thou  art  still 
chosen,  and  art  again  called  to  the  work.  Except 


148  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET,  ' 

thou  do  this,  thou  shalt  be  delivered  up,  and  become 
as  other  men,  and  have  no  more  gift. 

"And  when  thou  deliveredst  up  that  which  God 
had  given  thee  sight  and  power  to  translate, 
thou  deliveredst  up  that  which  was  sacred,  into 
the  hands  of  a  wicked  man,  who  has  set  at  naught 
the  counsels  of  God,  and  has  broken  the  most  sacred 
promises  which  were  made  before  God,  and  has  de- 
pended upon  his  own  judgment,  and  boasted  in  his 
own  wisdom;  and  this  is  the  reason  that  thou  hast 
lost  thy  privileges  for  a  season,  for  thou  hast  suf- 
fered the  counsel  of  thy  director  to  be  trampled 
upon  from  the  beginning. 

"Nevertheless,  my  work  shall  go  forth,  for  inas- 
much as  the  knowledge  of  a  Savior  has  come  unto  the 
world  through  the  testimony  of  the  Jews,  even  so 
shall  the  knowledge  of  a  Savior  come  unto  my  peo- 
ple." 

For  the  sake  of  brevity,  I  have  omitted  part  of 
this  revelation,  but  the  reader  will  find  it  in  the 
Doctrine  and  Covenants,  section  thirty.^ 

I  will  now  return  to  Joseph's  recital. 

"After  the  angel  left  me,"  said  he,  "I  continued  my 
supplications  to  God,  without  cessation,  and  on  the 
twenty-second  of  September  I  had  the  joy  and  satis- 
faction of  again  receiving  the  Urim  and  Thummim, 
with  which  I  have  again  commenced  translating,  and 
Emma  writes  for  me,  but  the  angel  said  that  the 
Lord  would  send  me  a  scribe,  and  I  trust  his  promise 
will  be  verified.    The  angel  seemed  pleased  with  me 


'Late  edition,  section  2. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS  149 

when  he  gave  me  back  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  and 
he  tald  me  that  the  Lord  loved  me,  for  my  faithful- 
ness and  humility." 

A  few  months  after  Joseph  received  them,  he  in- 
quired of  the  Lord,  and  obtained  the  following  reve- 
lation : 

"Now,  behold  I  say  unto  you,  that  because  you 
delivered  up  those  writings  which  you  had  power 
given  unto  you  to  translate,  by  the  means  of  the 
Urim  and  Thummim,  into  the  hands  of  a  wicked 
man,  you  have  lost  them,  and  you  also  lost  your  gift 
at  the  same  time,  and  your  mind  became  darkened; 
nevertheless,  it  is  now  restored  unto  you  again; 
therefore,  see  that  you  are  faithful,  and  continue  on 
unto  the  finishing  of  the  remainder  of  the  work  oi 
translation  as  you  have  begun.  Do  not  run  faster, 
or  labor  more  than  you  have  strength  and  means 
provided  to  enable  you  to  translate,  but  be  diligent 
unto  the  end,  pray  always,  that  you  may  come  off 
conqueror,  yea,  that  you  may  conquer  Satan,  and 
that  you  may  escape  the  hands  of  the  servants  of 
Satan  that  do  uphold  his  work.  Behold,  they  have 
sought  to  destroy  you,  yea,  even  the  man  in  whom 
you  have  trusted,  has  sought  to  destroy  you,  and  for 
this  cause  I  said,  that  he  is  a  wicked  man,  for  he  has 
sought  to  take  away  the  things  wherewith  you  have 
been  entrusted,  and  he  has  also  sought  to  destroy 
your  gift ;  and  because  you  had  delivered  the  writings 
into  his  hands,  behold  wicked  men  have  taken  them 
from  you.  Therefore,  you  have  delivered  them  up, 
yea,  that  which  was  sacred,  unto  wickedness.  And 
behold,  Satan  has  put  it  into  their  hearts  to  alter  the 


150  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

words  which  you  have  caused  to  be  written,  or  which 
you  have  translated,  which  have  gone  out  of  your 
hands ;  and  behold,  I  say  unto  you,  that  because  they 
have  altered  the  words,  they  read  contrary  from  that 
which  you  translated  and  caused  to  be  written;  and 
on  this  wise  the  Devil  has  sought  to  lay  a  cunning 
plan,  that  he  may  destroy  this  work.  For  he  haa 
put  it  into  their  hearts  to  do  this,  that,  by  lying,  they 
may  say  they  have  caught  you  in  the  words." — Doc- 
,  trine  and  Covenants,  section  36.^ 

While  on  this  visit  we  became  acquainted  with 
Emma's  father,  whose  name  was  Isaac  Hale;  also 
his  family,  which  consisted  of  his  wife,  Elizabeth, 
his  sons,  Jesse,  David,  Alva,  Isaac  Ward,  and 
Reuben;  and  his  daughters,  Phebe,  Elizabeth,  and 
A  

They  were  an  intelligent  and  highly  respectable 
family.  They  were  pleasantly  situated,  and  lived 
in  good  style,  in  the  town  of  Harmony,  on  the  Sus- 
quehanna River,  within  a  short  distance  of  the  place 
where  Joseph  resided. 

The  time  of  our  visit  with  them,  we  passed  very 
agreeably,  and  returned  home  relieved  of  a  burden 
which  was  almost  insupportable,  and  our  present  joy 
far  overbalanced  all  our  former  grief. 

'Late  edition,  section  3. 

'Trial,  wife  of  Michael  Morse,  Amboy,  Illinois. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


151 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

OLIVER  COWDERY  COMMENCES  WRITING  FOR  JOSEPH — 
THEY  ATTEND  TO  THE  ORDINANCE  OF  BAPTISM. 

When  Mr,  Smith  and  myself  arrived  at  home,  we 
found  Samuel  and  Sophronia  very  sick ;  indeed,  they 
were  so  low  that  Hyrum  had  left  his  own  house,  and 
quitted  business,  in  order  to  take  care  of  them  during 
our  absence.  They  continued  sick  a  length  of  time 
— Samuel  did  not  altogether  recover  for  a  number  of 
months. 

Soon  after  we  returned  from  Harmony,  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Lyman  Cowdery  came  into  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  applied  to  Hyrum,  (as  he  was  one  of  the 
trustees,)  for  the  district  school.  A  meeting  was 
called,  and  Mr.  Cowdery  was  employed.  But  the 
following  day,  this  Mr.  Cowdery  brought  his  brother 
Oliver  to  the  trustees,  and  requested  them  to  receive 
him  instead  of  himself,  as  circumstances  had  tran- 
spired which  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  dis- 
appoint them,  or  which  would  not  allow  of  his  at- 
tending to  the  school  himself ;  and  he  would  warrant 
the  good  conduct  of  the  school  under  his  brother's 
supervision.  All  parties  being  satisfied,  Oliver  com- 
menced his  school,  boarding  for  the  time  being  at 
our  house.  He  had  been  in  the  school  but  a  short 
time,  when  he  began  to  hear  from  all  quarters  con- 
cerning the  plates,  and  as  soon  began  to  importune 
Mr.  Smith  upon  the  subject,  but  for  a  considerable 


152  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

length  of  time  did  not  succeed  in  eliciting  any  infor- 
mation. At  last,  however,  he  gained  my  husband's 
confidence,  so  far  as  to  obtain  a  sketch  of  the  facts 
relative  to  the  plates. 

Shortly  after  receiving  this  information,  he  told 
Mr.  Smith  that  he  was  highly  delighted  with  what  he 
had  heard;  that  he  had  been  in  a  deep  study  upon 
the  subject  all  day,  and  that  it  was  impressed  upon 
his  mind,  that  he  should  yet  have  the  privilege  of 
writing  for  Joseph.  Furthermore,  that  he  had  de- 
termined to  pay  him  a  visit  at  the  close  of  the  school 
which  he  was  then  teaching. 

On  coming  in  on  the  following  day,  he  said,  "The 
subject  upon  which  we  were  yesterday  conversing 
seems  working  in  my  very  bones,  and  I  can  not,  for  a 
moment,  get  it  out  of  my  mind;  finally,  I  have  re- 
solved on  what  I  will  do.  Samuel,  I  understand,  is 
going  down  to  Pennsylvania  to  spend  the  spring 
with  Joseph;  I  shall  make  my  arrangements  to  be 
ready  to  accompany  him  thither,  by  the  time  he  re- 
covers his  health;  for  I  have  made  it  a  subject  of 
prayer,  and  I  firmly  believe  it  is  the  will  of  the  Lord 
that  I  should  go.  If  there  is  a  work  for  me  to  do 
in  this  thing,  I  am  determined  to  attend  to  it." 

Mr.  Smith  told  him  that  he  supposed  it  was  his 
privilege  to  know  whether  this  was  the  case,  and 
advised  him  to  seek  for  a  testimony  for  himself, 
which  he  did,  and  received  the  witness  spoken  of  in 
the  Book  of  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  section  eight.* 

From  this  time,  Oliver  was  so  completely  absorbed 


'Late  edition,  section  6. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


153 


in  the  subject  of  the  record,  that  it  seemed  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  think  or  converse  about  anything  else. 

As  the  time  for  which  we  had  agreed  for  the  plac« 
was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  we  began  to  make  prepa- 
rations to  remove  our  family  and  effects  to  the  house 
in  which  Hyrum  resided.  We  now  felt  more  keenly 
than  ever  the  injustice  of  the  measure  which  had 
placed  a  landlord  over  us  on  our  own  premises,  and 
who  was  about  to  eject  us  from  them. 

This  I  thought  would  be  a  good  occasion  for  bring- 
ing to  Oliver's  mind  the  cause  of  all  our  present  pri- 
vations, as  well  as  the  misfortunes  which  he  himself 
was  liable  to  if  he  should  turn  his  back  upon  the 
world,  and  set  out  in  the  service  of  God. 

"Now,  Oliver,"  said  I,  "see  what  a  comfortable 
home  we  had  here,  what  pains  each  child  we  have 
has  taken  to  provide  for  us  everything  necessary  to 
make  old  age  comfortable,  and  long  life  desirable. 
Here,  especially,  I  look  upon  the  handiwork  of  my 
beloved  Alvin;  who  even  upon  his  death-bed,  and  in 
his  last  moments,  charged  his  brothers  tx)  finish  his 
work  of  preparing  a  place  of  earthly  rest  for  us; 
that,  if  it  were  possible,  through  the  exertions  of  the 
children,  our  last  days  might  be  our  best  days.  In- 
deed, there  is  scarcely  anything  which  I  here  see,  that 
has  not  passed  through  the  hands  of  that  faithful 
boy,  and  afterwards,  by  his  brothers,  been  arranged 
precisely  according  to  his  plan,  thus  showing  to  me 
their  affectionate  remembrance,  both  of  their  par- 
ents, and  of  the  brother  whom  they  loved.  All  these 
tender  recollections  render  our  present  trial  doubly 
severe,  for  these  dear  relics  must  now  pass  into  the 


154  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

'aands  of  wicked  men,  who  fear  not  God  and  regard 
not  man.  And  upon  what  righteous  principle  has 
all  this  been  brought  about?  Have  they  ever  lifted 
a  finger  to  earn  any  part  of  that  which  they  now 
claim?  I  tell  you  they  have  not.  Yet  I  now  give  up 
all  this  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  salvation,  and  I 
pray  God  to  help  me  to  do  so,  without  a  murmur  or 
a  tear.  In  the  strength  of  God,  I  say,  that  from  this 
time  forth,  I  will  not  cast  one  longing  look  upon  any- 
thing which  I  now  leave  behhid  me.  However,  in 
consequence  of  these  things,  Oliver,  we  can  not  make 
you  comfortable  any  longer,  and  you  will  be  under 
the  necessity  of  taking  boarding  somewhere  else." 

"Mother,"  exclaimed  the  young  man,  "let  me  stay 
with  you,  for  I  can  live  in  any  log  hut  where  you 
and  father  live,  but  I  can  not  leave  you,  so  do  not 
mention  it." 

In  April  Samuel  and  Mr,  Gowdery  set  out  for 
Pennsylvania.  The  weather,  for  some  time  previ- 
ous, had  been  very  wet  and  disagreeable — raining, 
freezing,  and  thawing  alternately,  which  had  ren- 
dered the  roads  almost  impassable,  particularly  in 
the  middle  of  the  day.  Notwithstanding,  Mr.  Gow- 
dery was  not  to  be  detained,  either  by  wind  or 
weather,  and  they  persevered  until  they  arrived  at 
Joseph's. 

Joseph  had  been  so  hurried  with  his  secular  affairs, 
that  he  could  not  proceed  with  his  spiritual  concerns 
so  fast  as  was  necessary  for  the  speedy  completion  of 
the  work ;  there  was  also  another  disadvantage  under 
which  he  labored,  his  wife  had  so  much  of  her  time 
taken  up  with  the  care  of  her  house,  that  she  could 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


155 


write  for  him  but  a  small  portion  of  the  time.  On 
account  of  these  embarrassments,  Joseph  called  upon 
the  Lord,  three  days  prior  to  the  arrival  of  Samuel 
and  Oliver,  to  send  him  a  scribe,  according  to  the 
promise  of  the  angel;  and  he  was  informed  that  the 
same  should  be  forthcoming  in  a  few  days.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  Mr.  Cowdery  told  him  the  business 
that  he  had  come  upon,  Joseph  was  not  at  all  sur- 
prised. 

They  sat  down  and  conversed  together  till  late. 
During  the  evening,  Joseph  told  Oliver  his  history, 
as  far  as  was  necessary  for  his  present  informa- 
tion, in  the  things  which  mostly  concerned  him.  And 
the  next  morning  they  commenced  the  work  of  trans- 
lation, in  which  they  were  soon  deeply  engaged. 

One  morning  they  sat  down  to  their  work,  as 
usual,  and  the  first  thing  which  presented  itself 
through  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  was  a  command- 
ment for  Joseph  and  Oliver  to  repair  to  the  water, 
and  attend  to  the  ordinance  of  baptism.  They  did 
so,  and  as  they  were  returning  to  the  house,  they 
overheard  Samuel  engaged  in  secret  prayer.  Joseph 
said  that  he  considered  this  as  a  sufficient  testimony 
of  his  being  a  fit  subject  for  baptism;  and  as  they 
had  now  received  authority  to  baptize,  they  spoke  to 
Samuel  upon  the  subject,  and  he  went  straightway 
to  the  water  with  them,  and  was  baptized.  After 
which  Joseph  and  Oliver  proceeded  with  the  work  of 
translation  as  before. 


156  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MRS.  HARRIS  PROSECUTES  JOSEPH. 

About  the  first  of  August,  Samuel  returned  home, 
bringing  us  news  of  Joseph's  success.  This  intelli- 
gence produced  in  Martin  Harris  a  great  desire  to  go 
down  to  Pennsylvania  to  see  how  they  were  prosper- 
ing. This  being  made  known  to  his  wife,  she  re- 
solved to  prevent  him  from  going,  also  to  bring 
Joseph  into  difficulty,  which  would  perhaps  hinder 
him  from  ever  accomplishing  the  work  in  which  he 
was  engaged. 

To  this  end  she  undertook  to  prove  that  Joseph 
never  had  the  record  which  he  professed  to  have, 
and  that  he  pretended  to  have  in  his  possession  cer- 
tain gold  plates,  for  the  express  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing money.  Accordingly,  she  mounted  her  horse, 
flew  from  house  to  house  through  the  neighborhood, 
like  a  dark  spirit,  making  diligent  inquiry  wherever 
she  had  'the  least  hopes  of  gleaning  anything,  and 
stirring  up  every  malicious  feeling  which  would  tend 
to  subserve  her  wicked  purpose.  Having  ascer- 
tained the  number  and  strength  of  her  adherents, 
she  entered  a  complaint  against  Joseph,  before  a 
certain  magistrate  of  Lyons.  She  then  sent  word 
to  Lyman  Cowdery,  requesting  him  to  come  thither, 
prepared  to  go  post  haste  to  Pennsylvania,  (pro- 
vided the  decision  should  be  given  against  Joseph), 
to  assist  the  officers  in  securing  and  confining  him 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


157 


m  prison.  This  call,  Lyman  Cowdery  answered  im- 
mediately, and  all  things  seemed  going  on  prosper- 
ously with  Mrs.  Harris.  She  made  affidavit  to  many 
things  herself,  and  directed  the  officers  whom  to 
subpoena.  Among  the  number  was  her  husband, 
who  was  a  principal  witness  in  the  case. 

When  the  day  of  trial  came  on  the  neighbors  came 
and  informed  us  that  the  witnesses  had  gone  to 
Lyons  with  the  declared  intention  to  obtain  a  verdict 
against  Joseph,  if  it  could  be  done  by  swearing. 
Immediately  after  our  friends  left,  Hyrum  came  in, 
and  I  asked  him  what  could  be  done. 

"Why,  mother,"  said  he,  "we  can  do  nothing, 
except  to  look  to  the  Lord;  in  him  is  all  help  and 
strength ;  he  can  deliver  from  every  trouble." 

I  had  never  neglected  this  important  duty,  yet,  see- 
ing such  confidence  in  my  son,  strengthened  me  in 
this  hour  of  trial.  Not  being  accustomed  to  lawsuits 
of  this  character,  I  trembled  for  the  issue,  for  this 
was  the  first  time  a  suit  had  ever  been  preferred 
before  a  court  against  any  of  my  family.  I  retired 
to  a  secluded  place  and  poured  out  my  whole  soul  in 
entreaties  to  God  for  the  safety  of  my  son,  and  con- 
tinued my  supplication  for  some  time ;  at  length  the 
Spirit  fell  upon  me  so  powerfully,  that  every  fore- 
boding of  ill  was  entirely  removed  from  my  mind, 
and  a  voice  spoke  to  me,  saying,  "Not  one  hair  of  his 
head  shall  be  harmed."  I  was  satisfied.  I  arose, 
and  repaired  to  the  house.  I  had  never  before  in  my 
life  experienced  such  happy  moments.  I  sat  down 
and  began  to  read,  but  my  feelings  were  too  intense 
to  allow  me  to  do  so.    My  daughter-in-law,  Jerusha, 


158  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

came  into  the  room  soon  after  this,  and  when  she 
turned  her  eyes  upon  me,  she  stopped  short  and 
exclaimed,  "Why!  mother!  what  is  the  matter?  I 
never  saw  you  look  so  strangely  in  my  life." 

I  told  her  that  I  had  never  felt  so  happy  before  in 
my  life ;  that  my  heart  was  so  light,  and  my  mind  so 
completely  at  rest,  that  it  did  not  appear  possible  to 
me  that  I  should  ever  have  any  more  trouble  while  I 
should  exist,  I  then  informed  her  in  relation  to  the 
witness  which  I  had  received  from  the  Lord. 

In  the  evening  the  proceedings  of  the  court  were 
rehearsed  to  us,  which  were  as  follows : 

The  witnesses  being  duly  sworn,  the  first  arose 
and  testified  that  Joseph  Smith  told  him  that  the  box 
which  he  had  contained  nothing  but  sand;  and  he, 
Joseph  Smith,  said  it  was  gold  to  deceive  the  people. 

Second  witness  swore,  that  Joseph  Smith  had  told 
him  that  it  was  nothing  but  a  box  of  lead,  and  he  was 
determined  to  use  it  as  he  saw  fit. 

Third  witness  declared,  that  he  once  inquired  of 
Joseph  Smith  what  he  had  in  that  box,  and  Joseph 
Smith  told  him  that  there  was  nothing  at  all  in  the 
box,  saying  that  he  had  made  fools  of  the  whole  of 
them,  and  all  he  wanted  was  to  get  Martin  Harris's 
money  away  from  him,  and  that  he  (witness)  was 
knowing  to  the  fact  that  Joseph  Smith  had,  by  his 
persuasion,  already  got  two  or  three  hundred  dollars. 

Next  came  Mrs.  Harris's  affidavit,  in  which  she 
stated  that  she  believed  the  chief  object  which  Joseph 
Smith  had  in  view,  was  to  defraud  her  husband  out 
of  all  his  property,  and  that  she  did  not  believe  that 


aKd  his  progenitors 


159 


Joseph  Smith  had  ever  been  in  possession  of  the 
gold  plates  which  he  talked  so  much  about. 

The  magistrate  then  forbade  the  introduction  of 
any  more  witnesses  until  Martin  Harris  should  be 
sworn.  Martin  being  called  upon,  testified  with 
boldness,  decision,  and  energy,  to  a  few  simple  facts. 
When  he  arose,  he  raised  his  hand  to  heaven,  and 
said,  "I  can  swear  that  Joseph  Smith  never  has  got 
one  dollar  from  me  by  persuasion  since  God  made 
me.  I  did  once,  of  my  own  free  will  and  accord,  put 
fifty  dollars  into  his  hands,  in  the  presence  of  many 
witnesses,  for  the  purpose  of  doing  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  This  I  can  pointedly  prove ;  and  I  can  tell  you, 
furthermore,  that  I  have  never  seen  in  Joseph  Smith 
a  disposition  to  take  any  man's  money  without  giving 
him  a  reasonable  compensation  for  the  same  in 
return.  And  as  to  the  plates  which  he  professes  to 
have,  gentlemen,  if  you  do  not  believe  it,  but  con- 
tinue to  resist  the  truth,  it  will  one  day  be  the  means 
of  damning  your  souls." 

After  hearing  this  testimony  the  magistrate  told 
them  they  need  not  call  any  more  witnesses,  but 
ordered  them  to  bring  him  what  had  been  written  of 
the  testimony  already  given.  This  he  tore  in  pieces 
before  their  eyes,  and  told  them  to  go  home  about 
their  business,  and  trouble  him  no  more  with  such 
ridiculous  folly.  And  they  did  go  home,  perfectly 
discomfited. 


160  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

JOSEPH   AND   OLIVER  REMOVE   TO  WATERLOO — THEY 
FINISH  THE  TRANSLATION, 

We  will  now  return  to  Pennsylvania,  where  we  left 
Joseph  and  Oliver  busily  engaged  in  translating  the 
Book  of  Mormon. 

After  Samuel  left  them,  they  still  continued  the 
work  as  before,  until  about  the  time  of  the  trial  that 
took  place  in  New  York.  Near  this  time,  as  Joseph 
was  translating  by  means  of  the  Urim  and  Thum- 
mim,  he  received,  instead  of  the  words  of  the  book,  a 
commandment  to  write  a  letter  to  a  man  by  the  name 
of  David  Whitmer,  who  lived  in  Waterloo,  requesting 
him  to  come  immediately  with  his  team  and  convey 
himself  and  Oliver  to  his  own  residence,  as  an  evil- 
designing  people  were  seeking  to  take  away  his 
(Joseph's)  life,  in  order  to  prevent  the  work  of  God 
from  going  forth  to  the  world.  The  letter  was 
written  and  delivered,  and  was  shown  by  Mr.  Whit- 
mer to  his  father,  mother,  brothers,  and  sisters,  and 
their  advice  was  asked  in  regard  to  the  best  course 
for  him  to  take  in  relation  to  the  matter. 

His  father  reminded  him  that  he  had  as  much 
wheat  sown  upon  the  ground  as  he  could  harrow  in 
two  days,  at  least ;  besides  this,  he  had  a  quantity  of 
plaster  of  paris  to  spread,  which  must  be  done  im- 
mediately, consequently  he  could  not  go  unless  he 


AND 'HIS  PROGENITORS 


161 


could  get  a  witness  from  God  that  it  was  absolutely 
necessary. 

This  suggestion  pleased  David,  and  he  asked  the 
Lord  for  a  testimony  concerning  his  going  for 
Joseph,  and  was  told  by  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  to  go 
as  soon  as  his  wheat  was  harrowed  in.  The  next 
morning  David  went  to  the  field  and  found  that  he 
had  two  heavy  days'  work  before  him.  He  then  said 
to  himself  that  if  he  should  be  enabled,  by  any  means 
to  do  this  work  sooner  than  the  same  had  ever  been 
dorte  on  the  farm  before,  he  would  receive  it  as  an 
evidence  that  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  he  should  do 
all  in  his  power  to  assist  Joseph  Smith  in  the  work 
in  which  he  was  engaged.  He  then  fastened  his 
horses  to  the  harrow,  and  instead  of  dividing  the 
field  into  what  is  usually  termed  lands,  he  drove 
round  the  whole  of  it,  continuing  thus  till  noon, 
when,  on  stopping  for  dinner,  he  looked  around  and 
discovered  to  his  surprise  that  he  had  harrowed  in 
full  half  the  wheat.  After  dinner  he  went  on  as 
before,  and  by  evening  he  finished  the  whole  two 
days'  work. 

His  father,  on  going  into  the  field  the  same  even- 
ing, saw  what  had  been  done,  and  he  exclaimed, 
"There  must  be  an  overruling  hand  in  this,  and  I 
think  you  had  better  go  down  to  Pennsylvania  as 
soon  as  your  plaster  of  paxis  is  spread. 

The  next  morning  David  took  a  vrooden  measure 
under  his  arm,  and  went  out  to  spread  the  plaster 
which  he  had  left  two  days  previous  in  heaps  near 
his  sister's  house,  but,  on  coming  to  the  place,  he 
discovered  that  it  was  gone!    He  then  ran  to  his 


162  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

sister  and  inquired  of  her  if  she  knew  what  had  be- 
come of  it.  Being  surprised,  she  said,  "Why  do  you 
ask  me?    Was  it  not  all  spread  yesterday?" 

"Not  to  my  knowledge,"  answered  David. 

"I  am  astonished  at  that,"  replied  his  sister;  "for 
the  children  came  to  me  in  the  f  orenoon,  and  begged 
of  me  to  go  out  and  see  the  men  sow  plaster  in  the 
field,  saying  that  they  never  saw  anybody  sow  plaster 
so  fast  in  their  lives.  I  accordingly  went  and  saw 
three  men  at  work  in  the  field,  as  the  children  said, 
but  supposing  that  you  had  Hred  some  help  on 
account  of  your  hurry,  I  went  immediately  into  the 
house  and  gave  the  subject  no  further  attention." 

David  made  considerable  inquiry  in  regard  to  the 
matter,  both  among  his  relatives  and  neighbors,  but 
was  not  able  to  learn  who  had  done  it.  However, 
the  family  were  convinced  that  there  was  an  exer- 
tion of  supernatural  power  connected  with  this 
strange  occurrence. 

David  immediately  set  out  for  Pennsylvania,  and 
arrived  there  in  two  days,  without  injuring  his 
horses  in  the  least,  though  the  distance  was  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  miles.  When  he  arrived,  he 
was  under  the  necessity  of  introducing  himself  to 
Joseph,  as  this  was  the  first  time  that  they  had  ever 
met. 

I  will  observe  that  the  only  acquaintance  which 
existed  between  the  Smith  and  Whitmer  families 
was  that  formed  by  Mr.  Smith  and  myself  when  on 
our  way  fi'om  Manchester  to  Pennsylvania  to  visit 
Joseph,  at  which  time  we  stopped  with  David  over 
night,  and  gave  him  a  brief  history  of  the  record. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


163 


When  Joseph  commenced  making  preparations  for 
the  journey,  he  inquired  of  the  Lord  to  know  in  what 
manner  he  should  carry  the  plates.  The  answer  was 
that  he  should  commit  them  into  the  hands  of  an 
angel,  for  safety,  and  after  arriving  at  Mr.  Whit- 
mer's,  the  angel  would  meet  him  in  the  garden,  and 
deliver  them  up  again  into  his  hands. 

Joseph  and  Oliver  set  out  without  delay,  leaving 
Emma  to  take  charge  of  affairs  during  her  hus- 
band's absence.  On  arriving  at  Waterloo,  Joseph 
received  the  record  according  to  promise.  The  next 
day  he  and  Oliver  resumed  the  work  of  translation, 
which  they  continued  without  further  interruption 
until  the  whole  work  was  accomplished. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  PLATES  ARE  SHOWN  TO  TWELVE  WITNESSES — 
JOSEPH  MAKES  ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  PRINTING 
THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

As  soon  as  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  translated, 
Joseph  dispatched  a  messenger  to  Mr.  Smith,  bear- 
ing intelligence  of  the  completion  of  the  work,  and  a 
request  that  Mr.  Smith  arid  myself  should  come 
immediately  to  Waterloo. 

The  same  evening  we  conveyed  this  intelligence  to 
Martin  Harris,  for  we  loved  the  man,  although  his 
weakness  had  cost  us  much  trouble.  Hearing  this, 
he  greatly  rejoiced,  and  determined  to  go  straight- 


164  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

way  to  Waterloo,  to  congratulate  Joseph  upon  his 
success.  Accordingly,  the  next  morning  we  all  set 
off  together,  and  before  sunset  met  Joseph  and 
Oliver  at  Mr.  Whitmer's. 

The  evening  was  spent  in  reading  the  manuscript; 
and  it  would  be  superfluous  for  me  to  say,  to  one  who 
has  read  the  foregoing  pages,  that  we  rejoiced  ex- 
ceedingly. It  then  appeared  to  those  of  us  who  did 
not  realize  the  magnitude  of  the  work,  as  if  the 
greatest  difficulty  was  then  surmounted;  but  Joseph 
better  understood  the  nature  of  the  dispensation  of 
the  gospel  which  was  committed  to  him. 

The  next  morning,  after  attending  to  the  usual 
services,  namely,  reading,  singing ,  and  praying, 
Joseph  arose  from  his  knees,  and  approaching 
Martin  Harris  with  a  solemnity  that  thrills  through 
my  veins  to  this  day,  when  it  occurs  to  my  recollec- 
tion, said,  "Martin  Harris,  you  have  got  to  humble 
yourself  before  your  God  this  day,  that  you  may 
obtain  a  forgiveness  of  your  sins.  If  you  do,  it  is 
the  will  of  God  that  you  should  look  upon  the  plates, 
in  company  with  Oliver  Cowdery  and  David  Whit- 
mer." 

In  a  few  minutes  after  this,  Joseph,  Martin, 
Oliver,  and  David,  repaired  to  a  grove,  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  house,  where  they  commenced  calling 
upon  the  Lord,  and  continued  in  earnest  supplication, 
until  he  permitted  an  angel  to  come  down  from  his 
presence,  and  declare  to  them,  that  all  which  Joseph 
had  testified  of  concerning  the  plates  was  true. 

When  they  returned  to  the  house,  it  was  between 
three  and  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.    Mrs.  Whit- 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


165 


mer,  Mr.  Smith,  and  myself,  were  sitting  in  a  bed- 
room at  the  time.  On  coming  in,  Joseph  threw  him- 
self down  beside  me,  and  exclaimed,  "Father, 
mother,  you  do  not  know  how  happy  I  am ;  the  Lord 
has  now  caused  the  plates  to  be  shown  to  three  more 
besides  myself.  They  have  seen  an  angel,  who  has 
testified  to  them,  and  they  will  have  to  bear  witness 
to  the  truth  of  what  I  have  said,  for  now  they  know 
for  themselves,  that  I  do  not  go  about  to  deceive  the 
people,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  was  relieved  of  a  burden 
which  was  almost  too  heavy  for  me  to  bear,  and  it 
rejoices  my  soul,  that  I  am  not  any  longer  to  be 
entirely  alone  in  the  world."  Upon  this,  Martin 
Harris  came  in:  he  seemed  almost  overcome  with 
joy,  and  testified  boldly  to  what  he  had  both  seen 
and  heard.  And  so  did  David  and  Oliver,  adding 
that  no  tongue  could  express  the  joy  of  their  hearts, 
and  the  greatness  of  the  things  which  they  had  both 
seen  and  heard. 

Their  written  testimony,  which  is  contained  in  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  is  as  follows: 

"THE  TESTIMONY  OF  THREE  WITNESSES. 

"Be  it  known  unto  all  nations,  kindreds,  tongues, 
and  people,  unto  whom  this  work  shall  come,  that 
we,  through  the  grace  of  God  the  Father,  and  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  have  seen  the  plates  which  con- 
tain this  record,  which  is  a  record  of  the  people  of 
Nepihi,  and  also  of  the  Lamanites,  their  brethren,  and 
also  of  the  people  of  Jared,  who  came  from  the  tower 
of  which  hath  been  spoken;  and  we  also  know  that 
they  have  been  translated  by  the  gift  and  power  of 


166  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

God,  for  his  voice  hath  declared  it  unto  us;  where- 
fore we  know  of  a  surety  that  the  work  is  true.  And 
we  also  testify  that  we  have  seen  the  engravings 
which  are  upon  the  plates ;  and  they  have  been  shown 
unto  us  by  the  power  of  God,  and  not  of  man.  And 
we  declare,  with  words  of  soberness,  that  an  angel 
of  God  came  down  from  heaven,  and  he  brought  and 
laid  before  our  eyes,  that  we  beheld  and  saw  the 
plates,  and  the  engravings  thereon;  and  we  know 
that  it  is  by  the  grace  of  God  the  Father,  and  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  beheld  and  bear  record 
that  these  things  are  true;  and  it  is  marvelous  in 
our  eyes,  nevertheless,  the  voice  of  the  Lord  com- 
manded us  that  we  should  bear  record  oi  it;  where- 
fore, to  be  obedient  unto  the  commandments  of  God, 
we  bear  testimony  of  these  things.  And  we  know 
that  if  we  are  faithful  in  Christ,  we  shall  rid  our 
garments  of  the  blood  of  all  men,  and  be  found  spot- 
less before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  and  shall 
dwell  with  him  eternally  in  the  heavens.  And  the 
honor  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  is  one  God.  Amen. 

"Oliver  Cowdery, 
"David  Whitmer, 
"Martin  Harris." 
The  following  day  we  returned,  a  cheerful,  happy 
company.    In  a  few  days  we  were   followed  by 
Joseph,  Oliver,  and  the  Whitmers,  who  came  to  make 
us  a  visit,  and  make  some  arrangements  about  get- 
ting the  book  printed.    Soon  after  they  came,  all  the 
male  part  of  the  company,  with  my  husband,  Samuel, 
and  Hyrum,  retired  to  a  place  where  the  family  were 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


167 


in  tne  habit  of  offering  up  their  secret  devotions  to 
God.  They  went  to  this  place,  because  it  had  been 
revealed  to  Joseph  that  the  plates  would  be  carried 
thither  by  one  of  the  ancient  Nephites.  Here  it  was, 
that  those  eight  witnesses,  whose  names  are  recorded 
in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  looked  upon  them  and 
handled  them.  Of  which  they  bear  record  in  the 
following  words: 

"THE  TESTIMONY  OF  EIGHT  WITNESSES. 

"Be  it  known  unto  all  nations,  kindreds,  tongues, 
and  people,  unto  whom  this  work  shall  come,  that 
Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  the  translator  of  this  work,  has 
shown  unto  us  the  plates  of  which  hath  been  spoken, 
which  have  the  appearance  of  gold ;  and  as  many  of 
the  leaves  as  the  said  Smith  has  translated,  we  did 
handle  with  our  hands ;  and  we  also  saw  the  engrav- 
ings thereon,  all  of  which  has  the  appearance  of 
ancient  work,  and  of  curious  workmanship.  And 
this  we  bear  record  with  words  of  soberness,  that 
the  said  Smith  has  shown  unto  us,  for  we  have  seen 
and  hefted,  and  know  of  a  surety,  that  the  said  Smith 
has  got  the  plates  of  which  we  have  spoken.  And 
we  give  our  names  unto  the  world  to  witness  unto 
the  world  that  which  we  have  seen ;  and  we  lie  not, 
God  bearing  witness  of  it. 
"Christian  Whitmer,  "Hiram  Page, 
"Jacob  Whitmer,  "Joseph  Smith,  Sr. 

"Peter  Whitmer,  Jr.,      "Hyrum  Smith, 
"John  Whitmer,  "Samuel  H.  Smith." 

After  these  witnesses  returned  to  the  house,  the 
angel  again  made  his  appearance  to  Joseph,  at  which 


168  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

time  Joseph  delivered  up  the  plates  into  the  angel's 
hands.  The  ensuing  evening  we  held  a  meeting,  in 
which  all  the  witnesses  bore  testimony  to  the  facts 
as  stated  above;  and  all  of  our  family,  even  to  Don 
Carlos,  who  was  but  fourteen  years  of  age,  testified 
of  the  truth  of  the  latter-day  dispensation — that  it 
was  then  ushered  in.  In  a  few  days  the  whole  com- 
pany from  Waterloo  went  to  Palmyra  to  make 
arrangements  for  getting  the  book  printed ;  and  they 
succeeded  in  making  a  contract  with  one  E.  B. 
Grandin,  but  did  not  draw  the  writings  at  that  time. 
The  next  day  the  company  from  Waterloo  returned 
home,  excepting  Joseph,  and  Peter  Whitmer,  Joseph 
remaining  to  draw  writings  in  regard  to  the  printing 
of  the  manuscript,  which  was  to  be  done  on  the  day 
following. 

When  Joseph  was  about  starting  for  Palmyra, 
where  the  writings  were  to  be  executed,  Doctor 
Mclntyre  came  in  and  informed  us  that  forty  men 
were  collected  in  the  capacity  of  a  mob,  with  the 
view  of  waylaying  Joseph  on  his  way  thither;  that 
they  requested  him,  (Doctor  Mclntyre),  as  they  had 
done  once  before,  to  take  command  of  the  company, 
and,  that,  upon  his  refusing  to  do  so,  one  Mr.  Huzzy, 
a  hatter  of  Palmyra,  proffered  his  services,  and  was 
chosen  as  their  leader. 

On  hearing  this  I  besought  Joseph  not  to  go;  but 
he  smiled  at  my  fears,  saying,  "Never  mind,  mother, 
just  put  your  trust  in  God,  and  nothing  will  hurt  me 
to-day."  In  a  short  time  he  set  out  for  Palmyra. 
On  his  way  thither,  lay  a  heavy  strip  of  timber, 
about  half  a  mile  in  width,  and,  beyond  it,  on  the 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


169 


right  side  of  the  road,  lay  a  field  belonging  to  David 
Jacaway.  When  he  came  to  this  field,  he  found  the 
mob  seated  on  the  string  of  fence  running  along  the 
road.  Coming  to  Mr.  Huzzy  first,  he  took  off  his 
hat,  and  good-naturedly  saying,  "Good  morning,  Mr. 
Huzzy,"  passed  on  to  the  next,  whom  he  saluted  in 
like  manner,  and  the  next,  and  so  on  till  he  came 
to  the  last. 

This  struck  them  with  confusion,  and  while  they 
were  pondering  in  amazement,  he  passed  on,  leaving 
them  perched  upon  the  fence,  like  so  many  roosting 
chickens,  and  arrived  at  Palmyra  without  being  mo- 
lested. Here  he  met  Mr.  Grandin,  and  writings 
were  drawn  up  between  them  to  this  effect:  That 
half  of  the  price  for  printing  was  to  be  paid  by 
Martin  Harris,  and  the  residue  by  my  two  sons, 
Joseph  and  Hyrum.  These  writings  were  after- 
wards signed  by  all  the  parties  concerned. 

When  Joseph  returned  from  Palmyra,  he  said, 
"Well,  mother,  the  Lord  has  been  on  my  side  to-day, 
the  Devil  has  not  overpowered  me  in  any  of  my 
proceedings.  Did  I  not  tell  you  that  I  should  be 
delivered  from  the  hands  of  all  my  enemies?  They 
thought  they  were  going  to  perform  great  feats; 
they  have  done  wonders  to  prevent  me  from  getting 
the  book  printed ;  they  mustered  themselves  together, 
and  got  upon  the  fence,  made  me  a  low  bow,  and 
went  home,  and  I'll  warrant  you  they  wish  they 
had  stayed  there  in  the  first  place.  Mother,  there 
is  a  God  in  heaven,  and  I  know  it." 

Soon  after  this,  Joseph  secured  the  copyright ;  and 
before  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  had 


170  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


left  his  wife,  he  received  a  commandment,  which 
was,  in  substance,  as  follows: 

First,  that  Oliver  Cowdery  should  transcribe  the 
whole  manuscript.  Second,  that  he  should  take  but 
one  copy  at  a  time  to  the  office,  so  that  if  one  copy 
should  get  destroyed,  there  would  still  be  a  copy 
remaining.^  Third,  that  in  going  to  and  from  the 
office,  he  should  always  have  a  guard  to  attend  him, 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  manuscript. 
Fourth,  that  a  guard  should  be  kept  constantly  on 
the  watch,  both  night  and  day,  about  the  house,  to 
protect  the  manuscript  from  malicious  persons,  who 
would  infest  the  house  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  manuscript.  All  these  things  were  strictly 
attended  to,  as  the  Lord  commanded  Joseph.  After 
giving  these  instructions,  Joseph  returned  to  Penn- 
sylvania. 

^One  of  these  copies,  evidently  the  one  used  by  the  printer, 
is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Reorganized  Church.  It  is  said 
the  other  was  placed  in  the  corner-stone  of  the  Nauvoo  House 
at  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  but  as  the  building  was  not  finished  it 
was  not  protected  from  the  weather,  and  when  subsequently 
removed  little  if  any  if  it  was  legible. 

There  has  been  some  controversy  as  to  which  was  the 
original.  It  matters  not  which  was  written  first.  The  manu- 
script from  which  the  book  was  printed  is  the  one  now  pre- 
served, for  it  has  the  printer's  marks  upon  it  in  many  places. 
So  when  we  speak  of  the  printed  volume  there  is  no  question 
but  this  is  the  original  from  which  it  was  i^roduced. 

H.  C.  S. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


171 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

I 

THE  PRINTING  IS  BEGUN — A  MEETING  OF  THE  CITIZENS 
HELD  IN  REFERENCE  TO  THE  BOOK. 

Oliver  Cowdery  commenced  the  work  immediately 
after  Joseph  left,  and  the  printing  went  on  very  well 
for  a  season,  but  the  clouds  of  persecution  again 
began  to  gather.  The  rabble,  and  a  party  of  restless 
religionists,  began  to  counsel  together,  as  to  the  most 
efficient  means  of  putting  a  stop  to  our  proceedings. 

About  the  first  council  of  this  kind  was  held  in 
a  room  adjoining  that  in  which  Oliver  and  a  young 
man  by  the  name  of  Robinson  were  printing.  Mr. 
Robinson,  being  curious  to  know  what  they  were 
doing  in  the  next  room,  applied  his  ear  to  a  hole  in 
the  partition  wall,  and  by  this  means  overheard 
several  persons  expressing  their  fears  in  reference 
to  the  Book  of  Mormon.  One  said,  "it  was  destined 
to  break  down  everything  before  it,  if  not  put  a  stop 
to,"  and,  "that  it  was  likely  to  injure  the  prospects 
of  their  ministers,"  and  then  inquired,  whether  they 
should  endure  it.  "No,  no,"  was  the  unanimous 
reply.  It  was  then  asked,  "How  shall  we  prevent 
the  printing  of  this  book?"  Upon  which  it  was  re- 
solved by  the  meeting  that  three  of  their  company 
should  be  appointed  to  go  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Smith, 
on  the  following  Tuesday  or  Wednesday,  while  the 
men  were  gone  to  their  work,  and  request  Mrs. 
Smith  to  read  the  manuscript  to  them;  that,  after 


172  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

she  had  done  reading  it,  two  of  the  company  should 
endeavor  to  divert  her  attention  from  it  to  some 
other  object,  while  the  third,  seizing  the  opportunity, 
should  snatch  it  from  the  drawer,  or  wherever  it 
should  be  kept,  and  commit  it  to  the  flames. 

"Again,"  said  the  speaker,  "suppose  we  fail  in 
this,  and  the  book  is  printed  in  defiance  of  all  that 
we  can  do  to  the  contrary ;  what  means  shall  we  then 
adopt?  Shall  we  buy  their  books  and  allow  our 
families  to  read  them?"  They  all  responded,  "No." 
They  then  entered  into  a  solemn  covenant  never  to 
purchase  a  single  copy  of  the  work,  or  permit  one 
member  of  their  families  to  buy  or  read  one,  that 
they  might  thus  avert  the  awful  calamity  which 
threatened  them? 

Oliver  Cowdery  came  home  that  evening,  and, 
after  relating  the  whole  affair  with  much  solemnity, 
he  said,  "Mother,  what  shall  I  do  with  the  manu- 
script? Where  shall  I  put  it  to  keep  it, a  way  from 
them?" 

"Oliver,"  said  I,  "I  do  not  think  the  matter  so 
serious  after  all,  for  there  is  a  watch  kept  constantly 
about  the  house,  and  I  need  not  take  out  the  manu- 
script to  read  it  to  them  unless  I  choose,  and  for 
its  present  safety  I  can  have  it  deposited  in  a  chest, 
under  the  head  of  my  bed,  in  such  a  way  that  it 
never  will  be  disturbed."  I  then  placed  it  in  a  chest, 
which  was  so  high,  that  when  placed  under  the  bed, 
the  whole  weight  of  the  bedstead  rested  upon  the 
lid.  Having  made  this  arrangement,  we  felt  quite 
at  rest,  and,  that  night,  the  family  retired  to  rest  at 
the  usual  hour,  all  save  Peter  Whitmer,  who  spent 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


173 


the  nigilt  on  guard.  But  as  for  myself,  soon  after 
i  went  <to  bed  I  fell  into  a  train  of  reflections  which 
occupied  my  mind,  and  which  caused  sleep  to  forsake 
my  eyelids  till  the  day  dawned,  for,  when  I  medi- 
tated upon  the  days  of  toil,  and  nights  of  anxiety, 
through  which  we  had  all  passed  for  years  previous, 
in  order  to  obtain  the  treasure  that  then  lay  beneath 
my  head ;  when  I  thought  upon  the  hours  of  fearful 
apprehensions  which  we  had  all  suffered  on  the  same 
account,  and  that  the  object  was  at  last  accoaiplisned, 
I  could  truly  say  that  my  soul  did  magnify  the  Lord, 
and  my  spirit  I'ejoiced  in  God  Savior.  1  felt 
that  the  heavens  were  moved  in  our  behalf,  and  that 
the  angels  who  had  power  to  put  down  the  mighty 
from  their  seats,  and  to  exalt  them  who  were  of  low 
degree,  were  watching  over  us ;  that  those  would  be 
filled  who  hungered  and  thirsted  after  righteousn3SS, 
when  the  rich  would  be  sent  away  empty;  that  God 
had  helped  his  servant  Israel  in  remembrance  of  his 
promised  mercy,  and  in  bringing  forth  a  record,  by 
which  is  made  known  the  seed  of  Abraham,  our 
father.  Therefore,  we  could  safely  put  our  trust  in 
him,  as  he  was  able  to  help  in  every  time  of  need. 

On  the  fourth  day  subsequent  to  the  aforemen- 
tioned council,  soon  after  my  husband  left  the  house 
to  go  to  his  work,  those  three  delegates  appointed  by 
the  council,  came  to  accomplish  the  work  assigned 
them.  Soon  after  they  entered,  one  of  them  began 
thus : 

"Mrs.  Smith,  we  hear  that  you  have  a  gold  bible ; 
we  have  come  to  see  if  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to 
show  it  to  us?" 


174  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

"No,  gentlemen,"  said  I,  "we  have  no  gold  bible, 
but  we  have  a  translation  of  some  gold  plates,  which 
have  been  brought  forth  for  the  purjyose  of  making 
known  to  the  world  the  plainness  of  the  gospel,  and 
also  to  give  a  history  of  the  people  which  formerly 
inhabited  this  continent."  I  then  proceeded  to  re- 
late the  substance  of  what  is  contained  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  dwelling  particularly  upon  the  princi- 
ples of  religion  therein  contained.  I  endeavored  to 
show  them  the  similarity  between  these  principles, 
and  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  taught  by  Jesus 
Ohrist  in  the  ?Jew  Testament.  "Notwithstanding 
all  this,"  said  I,  "the  different  denominations  are 
very  much  opposed  to  us.  The  Universalists  are 
alarmed  lest  their  religion  should  suffer  loss,  the 
Presbyterians  tremble  for  their  salaries,  the  Metho- 
dists also  come,  and  they  rage,  for  the}"  worship  a 
God  without  body  or  parts,  and  they  know  that  our 
faith  comes  in  contact  with  this  principle." 

After  hearing  me  through,  the  gentlemen  said, 
"Can  we  see  the  manuscript,  then?" 

"No,  sir,"  replied  I,  "you  can  not  see  it  I  have 
told  you  what  it  contains,  and  that  must  suffice." 

He  made  no  reply  to  this,  but  said,  "Mrs.  Smith, 
you  and  the  most  of  your  children  have  belonged  to 
our  church  for  some  length  of  time,  and  we  respect 
you  very  highly.  You  say  a  great  deal  about  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  which  your  son  has  found,  and  you 
believe  much  of  what  he  tells  you,  yet  we  can  not 
bear  the  thoughts  of  losing  you,  and  they  do  wish — I 
wish,  that  if  you  do  believe  those  things,  you  would 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


175 


not  say  anything  more  upon  the  subject— I  do  wish 
you  would  not." 

"Deacon  Beckwith,"  said  I,  "if  you  should  jtick 
my  flesh  full  of  fagots,  and  even  burn  me  at  the 
stake,  I  would  declare,  as  long  as  God  should  give 
me  breath,  that  Joseph  has  got  the  record,  and  iliat 
1  know  it  to  be  true." 

At  this,  he  observed  to  his  companions,  "You  i,ee 
it  is  of  no  use  to  say  anything  more  to  her,  for  we 
can  not  change  her  mind."  Then,  turning  to  me, 
he  said,  "Mrs.  Smith,  I  see  that  it  is  not  possible  to 
persuade  you  out  of  your  belief,  therefore  I  deem 
it  unnecessary  to  say  anything  more  upon  the  sub- 
ject." 

"No,  sir,"  said  I,  "it  is  not  worth  your  while." 

He  then  bade  me  farewell,  and  went  out  to  see 
Hyrum,  when  the  following  conversation  took  place 
between  them. 

Deacon  Beckwith:  "Mr.  Smith,  do  you  not  think 
that  you  may  be  deceived  about  that  record,  which 
your  brother  pretends  to  have  found?" 

Hyrum:   "No,  sir,  I  do  not." 

Deacon  Beckivitii:  "Well,  now,  Mr.  Smith,  if  you 
find  that  you  are  deceived,  and  that  he  has  not  got 
the  record,  will  you  confess  the  fact  to  me?" 

Hyrum:  "Will  you.  Deacon  Beckwith,  take  one 
of  the  books,  when  they  are  printed,  and  read  it, 
asking  God  to  give  you  an  evidence  that  you  may 
know  whether  it  is  true?" 

Deacon  Beckiuith:  "I  think  it  beneath  me  to  take 
so  much  trouble;  however,  if  you  will  promise  that 
you  will  confess  to  me  that  Joseph  never  had  the 


176  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

plates,  I  will  ask  for  a  witness  whether  the  book 
is  true." 

Hyrum:  "I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do,  Mr. 
Beckwith,  if  you  do  get  a  testimony  from  God,  that 
the  book  is  not  true,  I  will  confess  to  you  that  it  is 
not  true." 

Upon  this  they  parted,  and  the  deacon  next  went 
to  Samuel,  who  quoted  to  him  Isaiah  56 :  9  to  11 : 
"All  ye  beasts  of  the  field,  come  to  devour;  yea,  ail 
ye  beasts  in  the  forest.  His  watchmen  are  blind; 
they  are  all  ignorant,  they  are  all  dumb  dogs,  they 
can  not  bark;  sleeping,  lying  down,  loving  to  slum- 
ber ;  yea,  they  are  greedy  dogs,  which  can  never  have 
enough,  and  they  are  shepherds  that  can  not  under- 
stand ;  they  all  look  to  their  own  way,  every  one  for 
his  gain,  from  his  quarter." 

Here  Samuel  ended  the  quotation,  and  the  three 
gentlemen  left  without  ceremony. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

ESQUIRE  cole's  DOGBERRY  PAPER — SECOND  MEETING 
OF  THE  CITIZENS. 
The  work  of  printing  still  continued  with  little  or 
no  interruption,  until  one  Sunday  afternoon,  when 
Hyrum  became  very  uneasy  as  to  the  security  of  the 
work  left  at  the  printing-office,  and  requested  Oliver 
to  accompany  him  thither,  to  see  if  all  was  right. 
Oliver  hesitated  for  a  moment,  as  to  the  propriety 
of  going  on  Sunday,  but  finally  consented,  and  they 
set  off  together. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


177 


On  arriving  at  the  printing  establishment,  they 
found  it  occupied  by  an  individual  by  the  name  of 
Cole,  an  ex-justice  of  the  peace,  who  was  busily  em- 
ployed in  printing  a  newspaper.  Hyrum  was  much 
surprised  at  finding  him  there,  and  remarked,  "How 
is  it,  Mr.  Cole,  that  you  are  so  hard  at  work  on  Sun- 
day?" 

Mr.  Cole  replied  that  he  could  not  have  the  press 
in  the  daj^ime  during  the  week,  and  was  obliged  to 
do  his  printing  at  night,  and  on  Sundays. 

Upon  reading  the  prospectus  of  his  paper,  they 
found  that  he  had  agreed  with  his  subscribers  to 
publish  one  form  of  "Joe  Smith's  Gold  Bible"  each 
week,  and  thereby  furnish  them  with  the  principal 
portion  of  the  book  in  such  a  way  that  they  would 
not  be  obliged  to  pay  the  Smiths  for  it.  His  paper 
was  entitled,  Dogberry  Paper  on  Winter  Hill.  In 
this  he  had  thrown  together  a  parcel  of  the  most 
vulgar,  disgusting  prose,  and  the  meanest,  and  most 
low-lived  doggerel,  in  juxtaposition  with  a  portion 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  he  had  pilfered.  At 
this  perversion  of  common  sense  and  moral  feeling, 
Hyrum  was  shocked,  as  well  as  indignant  at  the  dis- 
honest course  which  Mr.  Cole  had  taken,  in  order 
to  possess  himself  of  the  work. 

"Mr.  Cole,"  said  he,  "what  right  have  you  to  print 
the  Book  of  Mormon  in  this  manner?  Do  you  not 
know  that  we  have  secured  the  copyright?" 

"It  is  none  of  your  business,"  answered  Cole;  "I 
have  hired  the  press,  and  will  print  what  I  please; 
so  help  yourself." 

"Mr.  Cole,"  rejoined  Hyrum,  "that  manuscript  is 


178  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

sacred,  and  I  forbid  your  printing  any  more  of  it." 

"Smith,"  exclaimed  Cole,  in  a  tone  of  anger,  "I 
don't  care  a  d — n  for  you:  that  d — d  gold  bible  is 
going  into  my  paper,  in  spite  of  all  you  can  do." 

Hyrum  endeavored  to  dissuade  him  from  his  pur- 
pose, but  finding  him  inexorable,  left  him  to  issue 
his  paper,  as  he  had  hitherto  done;  for  when  they 
found  him  at  work,  he  had  already  issued  six  or 
eight  numbers,  and  by  taking  them  ten  or  twenty 
miles  into  the  country,  had  managed  to  keep  them 
out  of  our  sight. 

On  returning  from  the  office,  they  asked  my  hus- 
band what  course  was  best  for  them  to  pursue,  rela- 
tive to  Mr.  Cole.  He  told  them  that  he  considered 
it  a  matter  with  which  Joseph  ought  to  be  made 
acquainted.  Accordingly,  he  set  out  himself  for 
Pennsylvania,  and  returned  with  Joseph  the  ensuing 
Sunday.  The  weather  was  so  extremely  cold  that 
they  came  near  perishing  before  they  arrived  at 
home;  nevertheless,  as  soon  as  Joseph  made  himself 
partially  comfortable,  he  went  to  the  printing-office, 
where  he  found  Cole  employed,  as  on  the  Sunday 
previous.  "How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Cole,"  said  Joseph. 
"You  seem  hard  at  work." 

"How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Smith,"  answered  Cole, 
dryly. 

Joseph  examined  his  Dogberry  Paper,  and  then 
said  firmly,  "Mr.  Cole,  that  book  [the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon], and  the  right  of  publishing  it,  belongs  to  me, 
and  I  forbid  you  meddling  with  it  any  further." 

At  this  Mr.  Cole  threw  off  his  coat,  rolled  up  his 
sleeves,  and  came  towards  Joseph,  smacking  his  fists 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


179 


together  with  vengeance,  and  roaring  out,  "Do  you 
want  to  fight,  sir?  Do  you  want  to  fight?  I  will  pub- 
lish just  what  I  please.  Now,  if  you  want  to  fight, 
just  come  on." 

Joseph  could  not  help  smiling  at  his  grotesque 
appearance,  for  his  behavior  was  too  ridiculous  to 
excite  indignation.  "Now,  Mr.  Cole,"  said  he,  "you 
had  better  keep  your  coat  on — it  is  cold,  and  I  am 
not  going  to  fight  you ;  nevertheless,  I  assure  you,  sir, 
that  you  have  got  to  stop  printing  my  book,  for  I 
know  my  rights,  and  shall  maintain  them." 

"Sir,"  bawled  out  the  wrathy  gentleman,  "if  you 
think  you  are  the  best  man,  just  pull  off  your  coa: 
and  try  it." 

"Mr.  Cole,"  said  Joseph,  in  a  low,  significant  tone, 
"there  is  law,  and  you  will  find  that  out,  if  you  do 
not  understand  it,  but  I  shall  not  fight  you,  sir." 

At  this,  the  ex-justice  began  to  cool  off  a  little, 
and  finally  concluded  to  submit  to  an  arbitration, 
which  decided  that  he  should  stop  his  proceedings 
forthwith,  so  that  he  made  us  no  further  trouble. 

Joseph,  after  disposing  of  this  affair,  returned 
to  Pennsylvania,  but  not  long  to  remain  there,  for 
when  the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  country 
perceived  that  the  work  still  progressed,  they  became 
uneasy,  and  again  called  a  large  meeting.  At  this 
time,  they  gathered  their  forces  together,  far  and 
near,  and  organizing  themselves  into  a  committee 
of  the  whole,  they  resolved,  as  before,  never  to  pur- 
chase one  of  our  books,  when  they  should  be  printed. 
They  then  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  E.  B. 
Grandin,  and  inform  him  of  the  resolutions  which 


180  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

they  had  passed,  and  also  to  explain  to  him  the  evil 
consequences  which  would  result  to  him  therefrom. 
The  men  who  were  appointed  to  do  this  errand  ful- 
filled their  mission  to  the  letter,  and  urged  upon  Mr. 
Grandin  the  necessity  of  his  putting  a  stop  to  the 
printing,  as  the  Smiths  had  lost  all  their  property, 
and  consequently  would  be  unable  to  pay  him  for  his 
woi'k,  except  by  the  sale  of  the  books.  And  this  they 
would  never  be  able  to  do,  for  the  people  would  not 
purchase  them.  This  information  caused  Mr.  Gran- 
ain  to  stop  printing,  and  we  were  again  compelled 
to  send  for  Joseph.  These  trips,  back  and  forth, 
exhausted  nearly  all  our  means,  yet  they  seemed 
unavoidable. 

When  Joseph  came,  he  went  immediately  with 
Martin  Harris  to  Grandin,  and  succeeded  in  remov- 
ing his  fears,  so  that  he  went  on  with  the  work,  until 
the  books  were  printed,  which  was  in  the  spring  of 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


181 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE  CHURCH  ORGANIZED. 

About  the  first  of  April  of  the  same  year  in  which 
the  Book  of  Mormon  was  published,  Joseph  came 
again  from  Pennsylvania,  and  preached  to  us  sev- 
eral times.  On  the  morning  of  the  sixth  day  of  the 
same  month,  my  husband  and  Martin  Harris  were 
baptized.  When  Mr.  Smith  came  out  of  the  water, 
Joseph  stood  upon  the  shore,  and  taking  his  father 
by  the  hand,  he  exclaimed,  with  tears  of  joy,  "0,  my 
God!  have  I  lived  to  see  my  own  father  baptized 
into  the  true  Church  of  Jesus  Christ!"  On  the  same 
day,  April  6,  1830,  the  church  was  organized. 

Shortly  after  this  my  sons  were  all  ordained  to 
the  ministry,  even  Don  Carlos,  who  was  but  fourteen 
years  of  age.  Samuel  was  directed  to  take  a  num- 
ber of  the  Books  of  Mormon,  and  go  on  a  mission 
to  Livonia,  to  preach,  and  make  sale  of  the  books, 
if  possible.  Whilst  he  was  making  preparations  to 
go  on  this  mission.  Miss  Almira  Mack  arrived  in 
Manchester  from  Pontiac.  This  young  woman  was 
a  daughter  of  my  brother,  Stephen  Mack,  whose  his- 
tory I  have  already  given.  She  received  the  gospel 
as  soon  as  she  heard  it,  and  was  baptized  immedi- 
ately, and  has  ever  since  remained  a  faithful  member 
of  the  church. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  Samuel  started  on  the  mission 
to  which  he  had  been  set  apart  by  Joseph,  and  in 


182  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET,' 

traveling  twenty-five  miles,  which  was  his  first  day's 
journey,  he  stopped  at  a  number  of  places  in  order  to 
sell  his  books,  but  was  turned  out  of  doors  as  soon 
as  he  declared  his  principles.  When  evening  came 
on,  he  was  faint  and  almost  discouraged,  but  coming 
to  an  inn,  which  was  surrounded  with  every  appear- 
ance of  plenty,  he  called  to  see  if  the  landlord  would 
buy  one  of  his  books.  On  going  in,  Samuel  inquired 
of  him  if  he  did  not  wish  to  purchase  a  history  of 
the  origin  of  the  Indians. 

"I  do  not  know,"  replied  the  host,  "how  did  you 
get  hold  of  it?" 

"It  was  translated,"  rejoined  Samuel,  "by  my 
brother,  from  some  gold  plates  that  he  found  buried 
in  the  earth." 

"You  d — d  liar!"  cried  the  landlord,  "get  out  of 
my  house — you  shan't  stay  one  minute  with  your 
books." 

Samuel  was  sick  at  heart,  for  this  was  the  fifth 
time  he  had  been  turned  out  of  doors  that  day.  He 
left  the  house,  and  traveled  a  short  distance,  and 
washed  his  feet  in  a  small  brook,  as  a  testimony 
against  the  man.  He  then  proceeded  five  miles  fur- 
ther on  his  journey,  and  seeing  an  apple-tree  a  short 
distance  from  the  road,  he  concluded  to  pass  the 
night  under  it;  and  here  he  lay  all  night  upon  the 
cold,  damp  ground.  In  the  morning  he  arose  from 
his  comfortless  bed,  and  observing  a  small  cottage 
at  no  great  distance,  he  drew  near,  hoping  to  get  a 
little  refreshment.  The  only  inmate  was  a  widow, 
who  seemed  very  poor.  He  asked  her  for  food, 
relating  the  story  of  his  former  treatment.    She  pre- 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


183 


pared  him  some  victuals,  and,  after  eating,  he 
explained  to  her  the  history  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
She  listened  attentively,  and  believed  all  that  he  told 
her,  but,  in  consequence  of  her  poverty,  she  was 
unable  to  purchase  one  of  the  books.  He  presented 
her  with  one,  and  proceeded  to  Bloomington,  which 
was  eight  miles  further.  Here  he  stopped  at  the 
house  of  one  John  P.  Green,  who  was  a  Methodist 
minister,  and  was  at  that  time  about  starting  on  a 
preaching  mission.  He,  like  the  others,  did  not  wish 
to  make  a  purchase  of  what  he  considered  at  that 
time  to  be  a  nonsensical  fable,  however,  he  said  that 
he  would  take  a  subscription  paper,  and  if  he  found 
any  one  on  his  route  who  was  disposed -to  purchase, 
he  would  take  his  name,  and  in  two  weeks  Samuel 
might  call  again,  and  he  would  let  him  know  what 
the  prospect  was  of  selling.  After  making  this 
arrangement,  Samuel  left  one  of  his  books  with  him, 
and  returned  home.  At  the  time  appointed,  Samuel 
started  again  for  the  Reverend  John  P.  Green's,  in 
order  to  learn  the  success  which  this  gentleman  had 
met  with  in  finding  sale  for  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
This  time  Mr.  Smith  and  myself  accompanied  him, 
and  it  was  our  intention  to  have  passed  near  the 
tavern  where  Samuel  was  so  abusively  treated  a 
fortnight  previous,  but  just  before  we  came  to  the 
house,  a  sign  of  small-pox  intercepted  us.  We  turned 
aside,  and  meeting  a  citizen  of  the  place,  we  inquired 
of  him  to  what  extent  this  disease  prevailed.  He 
answered  that  the  tavern-keeper  and  two  of  his 
family  had  died  with  it  not  long  since,  but  he  did  not 
know  that  any  one  else  had  caught  the  distemper. 


184  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


'  and  that  it  was  brought  into  the  neighborhood  by  a 
traveler,  who  stopped  sA  the  tavern  over  night. 

This  is  a  specimen  of  the  peculiar  disposition  of 
some  individuals,  who  would  purchase  their  death 
for  a  few  shillings,  but  sacrifice  their  soul's  salva- 
tion rather  than  give  a  saint  of  God  a  meal  of 
victuals.  According  to  the  word  of  God,  it  shall  be 
more  tolerable  for  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  in  the  day 
of  judgment,  than  for  such  persons. 

We  arrived  at  Esquire  Beaman's,  in  Livonia,  that 
night.  The  next  morning  Samuel  took  the  road  to 
Mr.  Green's,  and  finding  that  he  had  made  no  sale 
of  the  books,  we  returned  home  the  following  day. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR,  AND  DON  CARLOS,  VISIT 
STOCKHOLM. 

Soon  after  the  church  was  organized,  my  husband 
set  out,  with  Don  Carlos,  to  visit  his  father,  Asael 
Smith,  After  a  tedious  journey,  they  arrived  at  the 
house  of  John  Smith,  my  husband's  brother.  His 
wife,  Clarissa,  had  never  before  seen  my  husband, 
but  as  soon  as  he  entered,  she  exclaimed,  "There,  Mr. 
Smith,  is  your  brother  Joseph,"  John,  turning  sud- 
denly, cried  out,  "Joseph,  is  this  you!" 

"It  is  I,"  said  Joseph;  "is  my  father  yet  alive?  I 
have  come  to  see  him  once  more,  before  he  dies," 

For  a  particular  account  of  this  visit,  I  shall  give 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


185 


my  readers  an  extract  from  Brother  John  Smith's 
journal.    He  writes  as  follows: 

"The  next  morning  after  Joseph  arrived,  we  set 
out  together  for  Stockholm  to  see  our  father,  who 
was  living  at  that  place  with  our  brother  Silas.  We 
arrived  about  dark  at  the  house  of  my  brother  Jesse, 
who  was  absent  with  his  wife.  The  children 
informed  us  that  their  parents  were  with  our  father, 
who  was  supposed  to  be  dying.  We  hastened  with- 
out delay  to  the  house  of  Brother  Silas,  and  upon 
arriving  there  were  told,  that  father  was  just  recov- 
ering from  a  severe  fit,  and,  as  it  was  not  considered 
advisable  to  let  him  or  mother  know  that  Joseph 
was  there,  we  went  to  spend  the  night  with  Brother 
Jesse. 

"As  soon  as  we  were  settled,  Brothers  Jesse  and 
Joseph  entered  into  conversation  respecting  their 
families.  Joseph  briefly  related  the  history  of  his 
family,  the  death  of  Alvin,  etc.  He  then  began  to 
speak  of  the  discovery  and  translation  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon.  At  this,  Jesse  grew  very  angry,  and 
exclaimed,  'If  you  say  another  word  about  that 
Book  of  Mormon,  you  shall  not  stay  a  minute  longer 
in  my  house,  and  if  I  can't  get  you  out  any  other 
way,  I  will  hew  you  down  with  my  broadax.' 

"We  had  always  been  accustomed  to  being  treated 
with  much  harshness  by  our  brother,  but  he  had 
never  carried  it  to  so  great  an  extent  before.  How- 
ever, we  spent  the  night  with  him,  and  the  next 
morning  visited  our  aged  parents.  They  were  over- 
joyed to  see  Joseph,  for  he  had  been  absent  from 


186  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

them  so  long  that  they  had  been  fearful  of  never 
beholding  his  face  again  in  the  flesh. 

"After  the  usual  salutations,  inquiries,  and  expla- 
nations, the  subject  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  was 
introduced.  Faither  received  with  gladness,  that 
which  Joseph  communicated ;  and  remarked,  that  he 
had  always  expected  that  something  would  appear 
to  make  known  the  true  gospel. 

"In  a  few  minutes  brother  Jesse  came  in,  and  on 
hearing  that  the  subject  of  our  conversation  was  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  his  wrath  rose  as  high  as  it  did 
the  night  before.  'My  father's  mind,'  said  Jesse, 
'is  weak,  and  I  will  not  have  it  corrupted  with  such 
blasphemous  stuff,  so  just  shut  up  your  heads.' 
Brother  Joseph  reasoned  mildly  with  him,  but  to  no 
purpose.  Brother  Silas  then  said,  'Jesse,  our  brother 
has  come  to  make  us  a  visit,  and  I  am  glad  to  see 
him,  and  am  willing  he  should  talk  as  he  pleases  in 
my  house.'  Jesse  replied  in  so  insulting  a  manner, 
and  continued  to  talk  so  abusively,  that  Silas  was 
under  the  necessity  of  requesting  him  to  leave  the 
house. 

"After  this,  brother  Joseph  proceeded  in  conversa- 
tion, and  father  seemed  to  be  pleased  with  every 
word  which  he  said.  But  I  must  confess  that  I  was 
too  pious,  at  that  time,  to  believe  one  word  of  it. 

"I  returned  home  the  next  day,  leaving  Joseph 
with  my  father,  soon  after  which  Jesse  came  to  my 
house  and  informed  me  that  all  my  brothers  were 
coming  to  make  me  a  visit,  'And  as  true  as  you  live,' 
said  he,  'they  all  believe  that  cursed  Mormon  book, 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


187 


every  word  of  it,  and  they  are  setting  a  trap  for 
you,  to  make  you  believe  it.' 

"I  thanked  him  for  taking  so  much  trouble  upon 
himself,  to  inform  me  that  my  brothers  were  coming 
to  see  me,  but  told  him  that  I  considered  myself 
amply  able  to  judge  for  myself  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion. 'I  know,'  he  replied,  'that  you  are  a  pretty 
good  judge  of  such  things,  but  I  tell  you  that  they 
are  as  wary  as  the  Devil.  And  I  want  you  to  go 
with  me  and  see  our  sisters,  Susan  and  Fanny,  and 
we  will  bar  their  minds  against  Joseph's  influence.' 

"We  accordingly  visited  them,  and  conversed  upon 
the  subject  as  we  thought  proper,  and  requested 
them  to  be  at  my  house  the  next  day. 

"My  brothers  arrived  according  to  previous  ar- 
rangement, and  Jesse,  who  came  also,  was  very  care- 
ful to  hear  every  word  which  passed  among  us,  and 
would  not  allow  one  word  to  be  said  about  the  Book 
of  Mormon.  They  agreed  that  night  to  visit  our 
sisters  the  following  day,  and  as  we  were  about 
leaving,  brother  Asael  took  me  aside  and  said,  'Now, 
John,  I  want  you  to  have  some  conversation  with 
Joseph,  but  if  you  do,  you  must  cheat  it  out  of  Jesse. 
And  if  you  wish,  I  can  work  the  card  for  you.' 

"I  told  him  that  I  would  be  glad  to  talk  with 
Joseph  alone,  if  I  could  get  an  opportunity. 

"  'Well,'  replied  Asael,  'I  will  take  a  certain  num- 
ber in  my  carriage,  and  Silas  will  take  the  rest,  and 
you  may  bring  out  a  horse  for  Joseph  to  ride,  but 
when  we  are  out  of  sight,  take  the  horse  back  to  the 
stable  again,  and  keep  Joseph  over  night.' 

"I  did  as  Asael  advised,  and  that  evening  Joseph 


188  JOSEPH   SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

explained  to  me  the  principles  of  'Mormonism,'  the 
truth  of  which  I  have  never  since  denied. 

"The  next  morning,  we  (Joseph  and  myself)  went 
to  our  sisters,  where  we  met  our  brothers,  who  cen- 
sured me  very  sharply  for  keeping  Joseph  over  night 
— Jesse,  because  he  was  really  displeased ;  the  others, 
to  make  a  show  of  disappointment. 

"In  the  evening,  when  we  were  about  to  separate, 
I  agreed  to  take  Joseph  in  my  wagon  twenty  miles 
on  his  journey  the  next  day.  Jesse  rode  home  with 
me  that  evening,  leaving  Joseph  with  our  sisters. 
As  Joseph  did  not  expect  to  see  Jesse  again,  when 
we  were  about  starting,  Joseph  gave  Jesse  his  hand 
in  a  pleasant,  affectionate  manner,  and  said,  'Fare- 
well, Brother  Jesse!'  'Farewell,  Joe,  for  ever,'  replied 
Jesse,  in  a  surly  tone. 

"  'I  am  afraid,'  returned  Joseph  in  a  kind,  but 
solemn  manner,  'it  will  be  for  ever,  unless  you 
repent.' 

"This  was  too  much  for  even  Jesse's  obdurate 
heart.  He  melted  into  tears;  however,  he  made  no 
reply,  nor  ever  mentioned  the  circumstance  after- 
wards. 

"I  took  my  brother  twenty  miles  on  his  journey 
the  next  day,  as  I  had  agreed.  Before  he  left  me, 
he  requested  me  to  promise  him  that  I  would  read  a 
Book  of  jMormon,  which  he  had  given  me,  and  even 
should  I  not  believe  it,  that  I  would  not  condemn  it; 
'For,'  said  he,  'if  you  do  not  condemn  it,  you  shall 
have  a  testimony  of  its  truth.'  I  fulfilled  my  prom- 
ise, and  thus  proved  his  testimony  to  be  true." 

Just  before  my  husband's  return,  as  Joseph  waa 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


189 


about  commencing  a  discourse  one  Sunday  morning, 
Parley  P.  Pratt  came  in,  very  much  fatigued.  He 
had  heard  of  us  at  some  considerable  distance,  and 
had  traveled  very  fast,  in  order  to  get  there  by 
meeting  time,  as  he  wished  to  hear  what  we  had 
to  say,  that  he  might  be  prepared  to  show  us  our 
error.  But  when  Joseph  had  finished  his  discourse, 
Mr.  Pratt  arose,  and  expressed  his  hearty  concur- 
rence in  every  sentiment  advanced.  The  following 
day  he  was  baptized  and  ordained.  In  a  few  days 
he  set  off  for  Canaan,  New  Y-ork,  where  his  brother 
Orson  resided,  whom  he  baptized  on  the  19th  of 
September,  1830. 

After  Joseph  ordained  Parley,  he  went  home  again 
to  Pennsylvania,  for  he  was  only  in  Manchester  on 
business.  About  this  time,  his  trouble  commenced  at 
Colesville,  with  the  mob,  who  served  a  writ  upon  him, 
and  dragged  him  from  the  desk  as  he  was  about 
taking  his  text  to  preach.  But  as  a  relation  of  this 
affair  is  given  in  his  history,^  I  shall  mention  only 
one  circumstance  pertaining  to  it,  for  which  I  am 
dependent  upon  Esquire  Reid,  Joseph's  counsel  in  the 
case,  and  I  shall  relate  it  as  near  in  his  own  words 
as  my  memory  will  admit: 

"I  was  so  busy  at  that  time  when  Mr.  Smith  sent 
for  me,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  me  to 
attend  the  case,  and  never  having  seen  Mr.  Smith, 
I  determined  to  decline  going.  But  soon  after  com- 
ing to  this  conclusion,  I  thought  I  heard  some  one 

'See  Times  and  Seasons,  vol.  4,  pp.  40  and  61.  Supplement 
to  Millennial  Star.  vol.  14.  p.  31. 


190  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

say,  'You  7nust  go,  and  deliver  the  Lord's  anointed!' 
Supposing  that  it  was  the  man  who  came  after  me, 
I  replied,  'The  Lord's  anointed?  What  do  you  mean 
by  the  Lord's  anointed  ?'  He  was  surprised  at  being 
accosted  in  this  manner,  and  replied,  'What  do  you 
mean,  sir?  I  said  nothing  about  the  Lord's  anointed.' 
I  was  convinced  that  he  told  the  truth,  for  these  few 
words  filled  my  mind  with  peculiar  feelings,  such  as 
I  had  never  before  experienced;  and  I  immediately 
hastened  to  the  place  of  trial.  Whilst  I  was  engaged 
in  the  case,  these  emotions  increased,  and  when  I 
came  to  speak  upon  it,  I  was  inspired  to  an  eloquence 
which  was  altogether  new  to  me,  and  which  was 
overpowering  and  irresistible.  I  succeeded,  as  I 
expected,  in  obtaining  the  prisoner's  discharge.  This 
the  more  enraged  the  adverse  party,  and  I  soon  dis- 
covered that  Mr.  Smith  was  liable  to  abuse  from 
them,  should  he  not  make  his  escape.  The  most  of 
them  being  fond  of  liquor,  I  invited  them  into 
another  room  to  drink,  and  thus  succeeded  in  attract- 
ing their  attention,  until  Mr.  Smith  was  beyond  their  ^ 
reach.  I  knew  not  where  he  went,  but  I  was  satis- 
fied that  he  was  out  of  their  hands." 

Since  this  circumstance  occurred,  until  this  day, 
Mr.  Reid  has  been  a  faithful  friend  to  Joseph, 
although  he  has  never  attached  himself  to  the 
church. 

After  escaping  the  hands  of  the  mob,  Joseph 
traveled  till  daybreak  the  next  morning  before  he 
ventured  to  ask  for  victuals,  although  he  had  taken 
nothing,  save  a  small  crust  of  bread,  for  two  days. 
About  daybreak  he  arrived  at  the  house  of  one  of 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


191 


his  wife's  sisters,  where  he  found  Emma,  who  had 
suffered  great  anxiety  about  him,  since  his  first 
arrest.  They  returned  home  together,  and  immedi- 
ately afterwards  Joseph  received  a  commandment 
by  revelation,  to  move  his  family  to  Waterloo. 

We  had  at  this  time  just  completed  a  house,  which 
Joseph  had  built  on  a  small  farm,  that  he  had  pur- 
chased of  his  father-in-law;  however,  he  locked  up 
his  house  with  his  furniture  in  it,  and  repaired  with 
Emma  immediately  to  Manchester.  About  the  time 
of  his  arrival  at  our  house,  Hyrum  had  settled  up 
his  business,  for  the  purpose  of  being  at  liberty  to 
do  whatever  the  Lord  required  of  him,  and  he 
requested  Joseph  to  ask  the  Lord  for  a  revelation 
concerning  the  matter.  The  answer  given  was,  that 
he  should  take  a  bed,  his  family,  and  what  clothing 
he  needed  for  them,  and  go  straightway  to  Coles- 
ville,  for  his  enemies  were  combining  in  secret  cham- 
bers to  take  away  his  life.  At  the  same  time  Mr. 
Smith  received  a  commandment  to  go  forthwith  to 
Waterloo,  and  prepare  a  place  for  our  family,  as 
our  enemies  also  sought  his  destruction  in  the  neigh- 
borhood in  which  we  then  resided,  but  in  Waterloo 
he  should  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  The 
next  day,  by  ten  o'clock,  Hyrum  was  on  his  journey. 
Joseph  and  Emma  left  for  Macedon,  and  William 
went  away  from  home  in  another  direction,  on  busi- 
ness. Samuel  was  absent  on  a  third  mission  to 
Livonia,  for  which  he  had  set  out  on  the  1st  of  Octo- 
ber, soon  after  the  arrival  of  my  husband  and  Don 
Carlos  from  their  visit  to  Father  Smith.  Catherine 
and  Don  Carlos  were  also  away  from  home.  Calvin 


192  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

St-oddard  and  his  wife,  Sophronia,  had  moved  several 
miles  distant  some  time  previous.  This  left  no  one 
but  Mr.  Smith,  myself,  and  our  little  girl,  Lucy,  at 
home. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

JOSEPH   SMITH,   SENIOR,  IMPRISONED — AN  ATTEMPT 
TO  TAKE  HYRUM. 

On  the  same  day  that  Hyrum  left  for  Colesville,' 
which  was  Wednesday,  the  neighbors  began  to  call, 
one  after  another,  and  inquire  very  particularly  for 
Hyrum. 

This  gave  me  great  anxiety,  for  I  knew  that  they 
had  no  business  with  him.  The  same  night,  my 
husband  was  taken  rather  ill,  and,  continuing  unwell 
the  next  day,  he  was  unable  to  take  breakfast  with 
me.  About  ten  o'clock  I  commenced  preparing  him 
some  milk  porridge,  but,  before  it  was  ready  for  him 
a  Quaker  gentleman  called  to  see  him,  and  the  fol- 
lowing is  the  substance  of  their  conversation: 

Quaker:  "Friend  Smith,  I  have  a  note  against 
thee  of  fourteen  dollars,  which  I  have  lately  bought, 
and  I  have  come  to  see  if  thou  hast  the  money  for 
me." 

Mr.  Smith:  "Why,  sir,  did  you  purchase  that 
note  ?    You  certainly  was  in  no  want  of  the  money  ?" 

Quaker':  "That  is  business  of  my  own;  I  want 
the  money,  and  must  have  it." 

Mr.  Smith:    "I  can  pay  you  six  dollars  now, — 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


193 


the  rest  you  will  have  to  wait  for,  as  I  can  not  get 
it  for  you." 

Quaker:  "No,  I  will  not  wait  one  hour;  and  if 
thou  dost  not  pay  me  immediately,  thou  shalt  go 
forthwith  to  the  jail,  unless  (running  to  the  fireplace, 
and  making  violent  gestures  with  his  hands  towards 
the  fire)  thou  wilt  burn  up  those  Books  -of  Mormon; 
but  if  thou  wilt  burn  them  up,  then  I  will  forgive 
thee  the  whole  debt." 

Mr.  Smith  (decidedly)  :    "That  I  shall  not  do." 

Quaker:    "Then,  thou  shalt  go  to  jail." 

"Sir,"  I  interrupted  (taking  my  gold  beads  from 
my  neck,  and  holding  them  towards  him),  "these 
beads  are  the  full  value  of  the  remainder  of  the  debt. 
I  beseech  you  to  take  them,  and  give  up  the  note." 

Quaker:  "No,  I  will  not.  Thou  must  pay  the 
money,  or  thy  husband  shall  go  straightway  to  jail." 

"Now,  here,  sir,"  I  replied,  "just  look  at  yourself 
as  you  are.  Because  God  has  raised  up  my  son  to 
bring  forth  a  book,  which  was  written  for  the  sal- 
vation of  the  souls  of  men,  for  the  salvation  of  your 
soul  as  well  as  mine,  you  have  come  here  to  distress 
me,  by  taking  my  husband  to  jail;  and  you  think,  by 
this,  that  you  will  compel  us  to  deny  the  work  of 
God,  and  destroy  a  bo-ok  which  was  translated  by 
the  gift  and  power  of  God.  But,  sir,  we  shall  not 
burn  the  Book  of  Mormon,  nor  deny  the  inspiration 
of  the  Almighty." 

The  Quaker  then  stepped  to  the  door,  and  called 
a  constable,  who  was  waiting  there  for  the  signal. 
The  constable  came  forward,  and,  laying  his  hand  on 
Mr.  Smith's  shoulder,  said,  "You  are  my  prisoner." 


»4  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


I  entreated  the  officer  to  allow  me  time  to  get  some 
one  to  become  my  husband's  security,  but  he  refused. 
I  then  requested  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  eat 
the  porridge  which  I  had  been  preparing,  as  he  had 
taken  no  nourishment  since  the  night  before.  This 
was  also  denied,  and  the  Quaker  ordered  my  husband 
to  get  immediately  into  a  wagon  which  stood  waiting 
to  convey  him  to  prison. 

After  they  had  taken  him  to  the  wagon,  the 
Quaker  stood  over  him  as  guard,  and  the  officer  came 
back  and  ate  up  the  food  which  I  had  prepared  for 
my  husband,  who  sat  in  the  burning  sun,  faint  and 
sick. 

I  shall  make  no  remarks  in  regard  to  my  feelings 
on  this  occasion.  Any  human  heart  can  imagine 
how  I  felt.  But  verily,  verily,  those  men  will  have 
their  reward. 

They  drove  off  with  my  husband,  leaving  me  alone 
with  my  little  girl.  The  next  morning  I  went  on  foot 
several  miles  to  see  a  friend  by  the  name  of  Abner 
Lackey,  who,  I  hoped,  would  assist  me.  I  was  not 
disappointed.  We  went  without  delay  to  the  magis- 
trate's office,  and  had  my  papers  prepared,  so  that 
I  could  get  my  husband  out  of  the  prison  cell, 
although  he  would  still  be  confined  in  the  jail-yard.' 

Shortly  after  I  returned  home,  a  pert  young  gentle- 
man came  in,  and  asked  if  Mr.  Hyrum  Smith  was 
at  home.    I  told  him,  as  I  had  others,  that  he  was 

'Imprisonment  for  debt  was  at  this  time  not  an  uncommon 
occurrence,  the  country  not  yet  having  passed  statutory  enact- 
ments ddsannuUing  the  laws  that  had  obtained  under  the  old 
dominion. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


195 


in  Colesville.  The  young  man  said  that  Hyrum  was 
owing  a  small  debt  to  Doctor  Mclntyre,  and  that  he 
had  come  to  collect  it  by  the  doctor's  orders,  as  he 
(Mclntyre)  was  from  home.  I  told  the  young  man 
that  this  debt  was  to  be  paid  in  corn  and  beans, 
which  should  be  sent  to  him  the  next  day.  I  then 
hired  a  man  to  take  the  produce  the  following  day  to 
the  doctor's  house,  which  was  accordingly  done,  and, 
when  the  man  returned,  he  informed  me  that  the 
clerk  agreed  to  erase  the  account.  It  was  now  too 
late  in  the  day  to  set  out  for  Canandaigua,  where 
my  husband  was  confined  in  prison,  and  I  concluded 
to  defer  going,  till  the  next  morning,  in  hopes  that 
some  of  my  sons  would  return  during  the  interval. 
The  night  came  on,  but  neither  of  my  sons  made 
their  appearance.  When  the  night  closed  in,  the 
darkness  was  hideous,  scarcely  any  object  was  dis- 
cernible. I  sat  down  and  began  to  contemplate  the 
situation  of  myself  and  family.  My  husband,  an 
affectionate  companion  and  tender  father,  as  ever 
blessed  the  confidence  of  a  family,  was  an  imprisoned 
debtor,  torn  from  his  family  and  immured  in  a 
dungeon,  where  he  had  already  lain  two  dismal 
nights,  and  now  another  must  be  added  to  the  num- 
ber, before  I  could  reach  him  to  render  him  any 
assistance.  And  where  were  his  children?  Alvin 
was  murdered  by  a  quack  physician ;  but  still  he  lay 
at  peace.  Hyrum  was  flying  from  his  home,  and 
why  I  knew  not;  the  secret  combinations  of  his 
enemies  were  not  yet  fully  developed.  Joseph  had 
but  recently  escaped  from  his  persecutors,  who 
sought  to  accomplish  his  destruction.    Samuel  was 


196  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

gone,  without  purse  or  scrip,  to  preach  the  gospel, 
for  which  he  was  as  much  despised  and  hated  as 
were  the  ancient  disciples.  William  was  also  gone, 
and  I  had  not,  unlike  Naomi,  even  my  daughters-in- 
law  to  comfort  my  heart  in  this  the  hour  of  my 
affliction.  While  I  was  thus  meditating,  a  heavy  rap 
at  the  door  brought  me  suddenly  to  my  feet.  I  bid 
the  stranger  enter.  He  asked  me,  in  a  hurried 
manner,  where  Hyrum  was.  I  answered  the  ques- 
tion, as  usual.  Just  then  a  second  person  came  in, 
and  the  first  observed  to  the  second,  "]\Irs.  Smith 
says  her  son  is  not  at  home."  The  person  addressed 
looked  suspiciously  around,  and  remarked,  "He  is 
at  home,  for  your  neighbors  have  seen  him  here 
to-day."  "Then,  sir,"  I  replied,  "they  have  seen  what 
I  have  not."  "We  have  a  search  warrant,"  rejoined 
he,  "and  if  you  do  not  give  him  up,  we  shall  be  under 
the  necessity  of  taking  whatever  we  find  that  belongs 
to  him."  Finding  some  corn  stored  in  the  chamber 
above  the  room  where  Hyrum  had  lived,  they 
declared  their  intention  of  taking  it,  but  I  forbade 
their  meddling  with  it.  At  this  instant,  a  third 
stranger  entered,  and  then  a  fourth.  The  last 
observed,  "I  do  not  know  but  you  will  think  strange 
of  so  many  of  us  coming  in,  but  my  candle  was  out, 
and  I  came  in  to  relight  it  by  your  fire."  I  told  him 
I  did  not  know  what  to  think,  I  had  but  little  reason 
to  consider  myself  safe  either  day  or  night,  and  that 
I  would  like  to  know  what  their  business  was,  and 
for  what  cause  they  were  seizing  upon  our  property. 
The  foremost  replied  that  it  was  wanted  to  settle 
a  debt  which  Hyrum  was  owing  to  Doctor  Mclntyre. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


197 


I  told  him  that  it  was  paid.  He  disputed  my  word, 
and  ordered  his  men  to  take  the  corn.  As  they  were 
going  up-stairs,  I  looked  out  of  the  window,  and  one 
glance  almost  turned  my  head  giddy.  As  far  as  I 
could  see  by  the  light  of  two  candles  and  a  pair  of 
carriage  lamps,  the  heads  of  men  appeared  in  every 
direction,  some  on  foot,  some  on  horseback,  and  th° 
rest  in  wagons.  I  saw  that  there  was  no  way  but 
for  me  to  sit  quietly  down,  and  see  my  house  pillaged 
by  a  banditti  of  blacklegs,  religious  bigots,  and  cut- 
throats, who  were  united  in  one  purpose,  namely, 
that  of  destroying  us  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 
However,  there  was  one  resource,  and  to  that  I 
applied.  I  went  aside  and  kneeled  before  the  Lord, 
and  begged  that  he  would  not  let  my  children  fall 
into  their  hands,  and  that  they  might  be  satisfied 
with  plunder  without  taking  life. 

Just  at  this  instant,  William  bounded  into  the 
house.  "Mother,"  he  cried,  "in  the  name  of  God, 
what  is  this  host  of  men  doing  here?  Are  they  rob- 
bing or  murdering?   What  are  they  about?" 

I  told  him,  in  short,  that  they  had  taken  his  father 
to  prison,  and  had  now  come  after  Hyrum,  but,  not 
finding  him,  they  were  plundering  the  house.  Here- 
upon William  seized  a  large  handspike,  sprang  up- 
stairs, and,  in  an  instant,  cleared  the  scoundrels  out 
01  the  chamber.  They  scampered  down-stairs;  he 
flew  after  them,  and,  bounding  into  the  very  midst 
of  the  crowd,  he  brandished  his  handspike  in  every 
direction,  exclaiming,  "Away  from  here,  you  i.-ut- 
throats,  instantly,  or  I  will  be  the  death  of  every  one 
of  you." 


198  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


The  lights  were  immediately  extinguished,  yet  he 
c^-itinued  to  harangue  them  boisterously  until  he 
discovered  that  his  audience  had  left  him.  They 
seemed  to  believe  what  he  said,  and  fled  in  every 
direction,  leaving  us  again  to  ourselves. 

Between  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  Calvin  Stoddard 
and  his  wife,  Sophronia,  arrived  at  our  house.  Cal- 
vin said  he  had  been  troubled  about  us  all  the  after- 
noon, and,  finally,  about  the  setting  of  the  sun,  he 
told  Sophronia  that  he  would  even  then  start  for  her 
father's  if  she  felt  inclined  to  go  with  him. 

Within  an  hour  after  their  arrival,  Samuel  came. 
He  was  much  fatigued,  for  he  had  traveled  twenty- 
one  miles  after  sunset.  I  told  him  our  situation,  and 
that  I  wished  him  to  go  early  the  next  morning  to 
Canandaigua,  and  procure  his  father's  release  from 
the  dungeon.  "Well,  mother,"  said  he,  "I  am  sick; 
fix  me  a  bed,  that  I  may  lie  down  and  rest  myself, 
or  I  shall  not  be  able  to  go,  for  I  have  taken  a 
heavy  cold,  and  my  bones  ache  dreadfully." 

However,  by  a  little  nursing  and  some  rest,  he 
was  able  to  set  off  by  sunrise,  and  arrived  in  Canan- 
daigua at  ten  o'clock.  After  informing  the  jailor 
his  business,  he  requested  that  his  father  might  be 
immediately  liberated  from  the  cell.  The  jailor 
refused,  because  it  was  Sunday,  but  permitted  Sam- 
uel to  go  into  the  cell,  where  he  found  my  husband 
confined  in  the  same  dungeon  with  a  man  committed 
for  murder.  Upon  Samuel  inquiring  what  his  treat- 
ment had  been,  Mr.  Smith  replied  as  follows: 

"Immediately  after  I  left  your  mother,  the  men 
by  whom  I  was  taken  commenced  using  every  pos- 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


199 


sible  argument  to  induce  me  to  renounce  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  saying,  'How  much  better  it  would  be 
for  you  to  deny  that  silly  thing,  than  to  be  disgraced 
and  imprisoned,  when  you  might  not  only  escape 
this,  but  also  have  the  note  back,  as  well  as  the  money 
which  you  have  paid  on  it.'  To  this  I  made  no  reply. 
They  still  went  on  in  the  same  manner  till  we  arrived 
at  the  jail,  when  they  hurried  me  into  this  dismal 
dungeon.  I  shuddered  when  I  first  heard  these 
heavy  doors  creaking  upon  their  hinges;  but  then, 
I  thought  to  myself,  I  was  not  the  first  man  who  had 
been  imprisoned  for  the  truth's  sake;  and  when  I 
should  meet  Paul  in  the  paradise  of  God,  I  could  tell 
him  that  I,  too,  had  been  in  bonds  for  the  gospel 
which  he  had  preached.  And  this  has  been  my  only 
consolation. 

"From  the  time  that  I  entered  until  now,  and  this 
is  the  fourth  day,  I  have  had  nothing  to  eat,  save  a 
pint  basin  full  of  very  weak  broth ;  and  there  (point- 
ing to  the  opposite  side  of  the  cell)  lies  the  basin 
yet." 

Samuel  was  very  much  wounded  by  this,  and,  hav- 
ing obtained  permission  of  the  jailor,  he  immediately 
went  out  and  brought  his  father  some  comfortable 
food.  After  which  he  remained  with  him  until  the 
next  morning,  when  the  business  was  attended  to, 
and  Mr.  Smith  went  out  into  the  jail-yard  to  a 
cooper's  shop,  where  he  obtained  employment  at 
coopering,  and  followed  the  same  until  he  was  re- 
leased, which  was  thirty  days.  He  preached  during 
his  confinement  here  every  Sunday,  and  when  he 


200  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

was  released  he  baptized  two  persons  whom  he  had 
thus  converted. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE  FAMILY  OF  JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR,  REMOVE  TO 
WATERLOO. 

Samuel  returned  from  Canandaigua  the  same  day 
that  my  husband  was  liberated  from  the  cell.  After 
relating  to  us  the  success  he  had  met  with  at  Canan- 
daigua, he  gave  us  an  account  of  his  third  visit  to 
Livonia : 

"When  I  arrived  at  Mr.  Green's,"  said  he,  "Mrs. 
Green  informed  me  that  her  husband  was  absent 
from  home,  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  selling  my 
books,  and  even  the  one  which  I  had  left  with  them, 
she  expected  I  would  have  to  take  away,  as  Mr. 
Green  had  no  disposition  to  purchase  it,  although  she 
had  read  it  herself,  and  was  much  pleased  with  it. 
I  then  talked  with  her  a  short  time,  and,  binding  my 
knapsack  upon  my  shoulders,  rose  to  depart;  but, 
as  I  bade  her  farewell,  it  was  impressed  upon  my 
mind  to  leave  the  book  with  her.  I  made  her  a  pres- 
ent of  it,  and  told  her  that  the  Spirit  forbade  my 
taking  it  away.  She  burst  into  tears,  and  requested 
me  to  pray  with  ner.  I  did  so,  and  afterwards 
explained  to  her  the  most  profitable  manner  of  read- 
ing the  book  which  I  had  left  with  her ;  which  was, 
to  ask  God,  when  she  read  it,  for  a  testimony  of 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


201 


the  truth  of  what  she  had  read,  and  she  would  receive 
the  Spirit  of  God,  which  would  enable  her  to  discern 
the  things  of  God.  I  then  left  her,  and  returned 
home." 

I  shall  now  turn  aside  from  my  narrative,  and  give 
a  history  of  the  above  book.  When  Mr.  Green  re- 
turned home,  his  wife  requested  him  to  read  it, 
informing  him  very  particularly  with  regard  to  what 
Samuel  had  said  to  her,  relative  to  obtaining  a  tes- 
timony of  the  truth  of  it.  This,  he,  for  a  while 
refused  to  do,  but  finally  yielded  to  her  persuasions, 
and  took  the  book  and  commenced  perusing  the  same, 
calling  upon  God  for  the  testimony  of  his  Spirit,  The 
result  of  which  was  that  he  and  Mrs.  Green  were 
in  a  short  time  baptized.  They  gave  the  b-ook  to 
Phineas  Young,  Mrs.  Green's  brother,  who  read  it, 
and  commenced  preaching  it  forthwith.  It  was  next 
handed  to  Brigham  Young,  and  from  him  to  Mrs. 
Murray,  his  sister,  who  is  also  the  mother  of  Heber 
C.  Kimball's  wife.  They  all  received  the  work  with- 
out hesitancy,  and  rejoiced  in  the  truth  thereof. 
Joseph  Young  was  at  this  time  in  Canada,  preach- 
ing the  Methodist  doctrine ;  but,  as  soon  as  Brigham 
became  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  as  con- 
tained in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  he  went  straightway 
to  his  brother  Joseph,  and  persuaded  him  to  cease 
preaching  Methodism,  and  embrace  the  truth,  as  set 
forth  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  he  carried  with 
him. 

Thus  was  this  book  the  means  of  convincing  this 
whole  family,  and  bringing  them  into  the  church, 
where  they  have  continued  faithful  members  from 


202  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

the  commencement  of  their  career  until  now.  And, 
through  their  faithfulness  and  zeal,  some  of  them 
have  become  as  great  and  honorable  men  as  ever 
stood  upon  the  earth. ^ 

I  shall  now  resume  my  subject.  The  first  business 
which  Samuel  set  himself  about  after  he  returned 
home,  was  preparing  to  move  the  family  to  Waterloo, 
according  to  the  revelation  given  to  Joseph.  And 
after  much  fatigue  and  perplexities  of  various  kinds, 
he  succeeded  in  getting  us  there.  We  moved  into  a 
house  belonging  to  an  individual  by  the  name  of 
Kellogg.  Shortly  after  arriving  there,  we  were 
made  to  realize  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  were 
in  the  hands  of  the  Lrord;  for  we  had  scarcely 
unpacked  our  goods  when  one  of  our  new  neighbors, 
a  Mr.  Osgood,  came  in  and  invited  us  to  drive  our 
stock  and  teams  to  his  barn-yard,  and  feed  them 
from  his  barn,  free  of  cost,  until  we  could  make 
further  arrangements.  Many  of  our  neighbors  came 
in,  and  welcomed  us  to  Waterloo.  Among  whom  was 
Mr,  Hooper,  a  tavern-keeper,  whose  wife  came  with 
him,  and  brought  us  a  present  of  some  delicate  eat- 
ables. Such  manifestations  of  kindness  as  these 
were  shown  to  us  from  day  to  day,  during  our  con- 
tinuance in  the  place.  And  they  were  duly  appreci- 
ated, for  we  had  experienced  the  opposite  so  severely 

'The  course  that  Brigham  Young  and  the  Twelve  with  him 
took  after  the  death  of  her  sons  Joseph  and  Hyrum,  was  not 
approved  by  Grandmother  Smith.  She  always  spoke  in 
kindly  terms  of  the  men,  but  steadily  and  persistently  refused 
to  give  credence  to  the  doctrine  and  policy  adopted  by  them. 
In  this  she  did  not  waver  to  the  end  of  her  Idfe. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


203 


that  the  least  show  of  good  feeling  gave  rise  to  the 
liveliest  sensations  of  gratitude. 

Having  settled  ourselves  in  this  place,  we  estab- 
lished the  practice  of  spending  the  evenings  in  sing- 
ing and  praying.  The  neighbors  soon  became  aware 
of  this,  and  it  caused  our  house  to  become  a  place  of 
evening  resort  for  some  dozen  or  twenty  persons. 
One  evening,  soon  after  we  commenced  singing,  a 
couple  of  little  boys  came  in,  and  one  of  them,  step- 
ping softly  up  to  Samuel,  whispered,  "Mr.  Smith, 
won't  you  pray  pretty  soon?  Our  mother  said  we 
must  be  home  by  eight  o'clock,  and  we  would  like  to 
hear  you  pray  before  we  go." 

Samuel  told  them  that  prayer  should  be  attended 
to  immediately.  Accordingly,  when  we  had  finished 
the  hymn  which  we  were  then  singing,  we  closed 
the  evening  services  with  prayer,  in  order  that  the 
little  boys  might  be  gratified.  After  this  they  were 
never  absent  during  our  evening's  devotions,  while 
we  remained  in  the  neighborhood. 


204  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

THE  FIRST  WESTERN  MISSION — JOSEPH  SMITH,  JUN- 
IOR, MOVES  TO  KIRTLAND. 

1  mentioned,  in  a  foregoing  chapter,  that  when 
Joseph  and  Emma  left  Manchester,  they  went  to 
Macedon.  Here  he  commenced  his  ministerial  labors, 
and  continued,  for  some  time,  to  preach  successively 
in  this  place,  Colesville,  Waterloo,  Palmyra,  and 
Manchester,  till,  finally,  he  sent  to  Pennsylvania  for 
his  goods,  and  settled  himself  in  Waterloo.  Soon 
after  which  a  revelation  was  given,  commanding 
Parley  P.  Pratt,  Ziba  Peterson,  Peter  Whitmer,  and 
Oliver  Cowdery,  to  take  a  mission  to  Missouri, 
preaching  by  the  way.  As  soon  as  this  revelation 
was  received,  Emma  Smith,  and  several  other 
sisters  began  to  make  arrangements  to  furnish  those 
who  were  set  apart  for  this  mission  with  the  neces- 
sary clothing,  which  was  no  easy  task,  as  the  most 
of  it  had  to  be  manufactured  out  of  the  raw  ma- 
terial. 

Emma's  health  at  this  time  was  quite  delicate,  yet 
she  did  not  favor  herself  on  this  account,  but  what- 
ever her  hands  found  to  do,  she  did  with  her  might, 
until  she  went  so  far  beyond  her  strength  that  she 
brought  upon  herself  a  heavy  fit  of  sickness,  which 
lasted  four  weeks.  And,  although  her  strength  was 
exhausted,  still  her  spirits  were  the  same,  which,  in 
fact,  was  always  the  case  with  her,  even  under  the 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


205 


most  trying  circumstances.  I  have  never  seen  a 
woman  in  my  life  who  would  endure  every  speoies  of 
fatigue  and  hardship,  from  month  to  month,  and 
from  year  to  year,  with  that  unflinching  courage, 
zeal,  and  patience,  which  she  has  ever  done;  for  I 
know  that  which  she  has  had  to  endure — she  has 
been  tossed  upon  the  ocean  of  uncertainty — 'she  has 
breasted  the  storms  of  persecution,  and  buffeted  the 
rage  of  men  and  devils,  which  would  have  borne 
down  almost  any  other  woman.  It  may  be  that 
many  may  yet  have  to  encounter  the  same — I  pray 
God  that  this  may  not  be  the  case;  but,  should  it 
be,  may  they  have  grace  given  them  according  to 
their  day,  even  as  has  been  the  case  with  her. 

As  soon  as  those  men  designated  in  the  revelation 
were  prepared  to  leave  home,  they  started  on  their 
mission,  preaching  and  baptizing  on  their  way,  wher- 
ever an  opportunity  afforded.  On  their  route  they 
passed  through  Kirtland,  where  they  preached  a 
short  time,  and  raised  up  a  branch  of  twenty  or 
thirty  members.  Before  leaving  this  place,  they 
addressed  a  letter  to  Joseph,  desiring  him  to  send  an 
elder  to  preside  over  the  branch  which  they  had 
raised  up.  Accordingly,  Joseph  dispatched  John 
Whitmer  to  take  the  presidency  of  the  church  at 
Kirtland ;  and  when  he  arrived  there,  those  appointed 
to  go  to  Missouri  proceeded  on  their  mission,  preach- 
ing and  baptizing  as  before. 

In  December  of  the  same  year  (1830),  Joseph 
appointed  a  meeting  at  our  house.  While  he  was 
preaching,  Sidney  Rigdon  and  Edward  Partridge 
came  in,  and  seated  themselves  in  the  congregation. 


206  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

When  Joseph  had  finished  his  discourse,  he  gave  all 
who  had  any  remarks  to  make,  the  privilege  of  speak- 
ing. Upon  this  Mr.  Partridge  arose,  and  stated  that 
he  had  been  to  Manchester,  with  the  view  of  obtain- 
ing further  information  respecting  the  doctrine 
which  we  preached ;  but,  not  finding  us,  he  had  made 
some  inquiry  of  our  neighbors  concerning  our  char- 
acters, which  they  stated  had  been  unimpeachable, 
until  Joseph  deceived  us  relative  to  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon. He  also  said  that  he  had  walked  over  our 
farm,  and  observed  the  good  order  and  industry 
which  it  exhibited;  and,  having  seen  what  we  had 
sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  our  faith,  and  having  heard 
that  our  veracity  was  not  questioned  upon  any  other 
point  than  that  of  our  religion,  he  believed  our  tes- 
timony, and  was  ready  to  be  baptized,  "if,"  said  he, 
"Brother  Joseph  will  baptize  me." 

"You  are  now,"  replied  Joseph,  "much  fatigued. 
Brother  Partridge,  and  you  had  better  rest  to-day, 
and  be  baptized  to-morrow."  . 

"Just  as  Brother  Joseph  thinks  best,"  replied  Mr. 
Partridge,  "I  am  ready  at  any  time." 

He  was  accordingly  baptized  the  next  day.  Before 
he  left  my  husband  returned  home  from  prison, 
bringing  along  with  him  considerable  clothing,  which 
he  had  earned  at  coopering  in  the  jail-yard. 

The  latter  part  of  the  same  month  Joseph  received 
a  letter  from  John  Whitmer,  desiring  his  immediate 
assistance  at  Kirtland  in  regulating  the  affairs  of 
the  church  there.  Joseph  inquired  of  the  Lord,  and 
received  a  commandment  to  go  straightway  to  Kirt- 
land with  his  family  and  effects;   also  to  send  a 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


207 


message  to  Hyrum  to  have  him  to  take  that  branch 
of  the  church,  over  which  he  presided,  and  start 
immediately  for  the  same  place.  And  my  husband 
was  commanded,  in  the  same  revelation,  to  meet 
Hyrum  at  the  most  convenient  point,  and  accompany 
him  to  Kirtland.  Samuel  was  sent  on  a  mission,  into 
the  same  region  of  country,  while  I,  and  my  two  sons, 
William  and  Carlos,  were  to  be  left  till  the  ensuing 
spring,  when  we  were  to  take  the  remainder  of  the 
branch  at  Waterloo,  and  move  also  to  Kirtland. 

It  was  but  a  short  time  till  Joseph  and  Emma 
were  on  their  way,  accompanied  by  Sidney  Rigdon, 
Edward  Partridge,  Ezra  Thayre,  and  Newel  Knight. 
When  they  were  about  starting,  they  preached  at 
our  house  on  Seneca  River;  and  on  their  way,  they 
preached  at  the  house  of  Calvin  Stoddard,  and  like- 
wise at  the  house  of  Preserved  Harris.  At  each  of 
these  places,  they  baptized  several  individuals  into 
the  church. 

On  Joseph's  arrival  at  Kirtland,  he  found  a  church 
consisting  of  nearly  one  hundred  members,  who 
were,  in  general,  good  brethren,  though  a  few  of 
them  had  imbibed  some  very  erroneous  ideas,  being 
greatly  deceived  by  a  singular  poiver,  which  mani- 
fested itself  among  them  in  strange  contortions  of 
the  visage,  and  sudden  unnatural  exertions  of  the 
body.  This  they  supposed  to  be  a  display  of  the 
power  of  God.  Shortly  after  Joseph  arrived,  he 
called  the  church  together,  in  order  to  show  them  the 
difference  between  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  Devil.  He  said,  if  a  man  arose  in  meeting  to 
speak,  and  was  seized  with  a  kind  of  paroxysm,  that 


208  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

drew  his  face  and  limbs,  in  a  violent  and  unnatural 
manner,  which  made  him  appear  to  be  in  pain;  and 
if  he  gave  utterance  to  strange  sounds,  which  were 
incomprehensible  to  his  audience,  they  might  rely 
upon  it  that  he  had  the  spirit  of  the  Devil.  But  on 
the  contrary,  when  a  man  speaks  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  he  speaks  from  the  abundance  of  his  heart — his 
mind  is  filled  with  intelligence,  and  even  should  he  be 
excited,  it  does  not  cause  him  to  do  anything  ridicu- 
lous or  unseemly.  He  then  called  upon  one  of  the 
brethren  to  speak,  who  arose  and  made  the  attempt, 
but  was  immediately  seized  with  a  kind  of  spasm, 
which  drew  his  face,  arms,  and  fingers  in  a  most 
astonishing  manner. 

Hyrum,  by  Joseph's  request,  laid  hands  on  the 
man,  whereupon  he  sunk  back  in  a  state  of  complete 
exhaustion.  Joseph  then  called  upon  another  man 
to  speak,  who  stood  leaning  in  an  open  window.  This 
man  also  attempted  to  speak,  but  was  thrown  for- 
ward into  the  house,  prostrate,  unable  to  utter  a 
syllable.  He  was  administered  to,  and  the  same 
effects  followed  as  in  the  first  instance. 

These,  together  with  a  few  other  examples  of  the 
same  kind,  convinced  the  brethren  of  the  mistake 
under  which  they  had  been  laboring;  and  they  all 
rejoiced  in  the  goodness  of  God,  in  once  more  con- 
descending to  lead  the  children  of  men  by  revelation 
and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


209 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  DIFFERENT  BRANCHES  OF  THE  CHURCH  REMOVE 
TO  KIRTLAND — MIRACLE  AT  BUFFALO. 

Soon  after  my  husband  and  Joseph  left  for  Kirt- 
land,  William,  being  one  of  the  teachers,  visited  the 
church;  and  calling  upon  each  family,  he  remained 
with  them  until  each  individual  belonging  to  the 
house  had  prayed  in  his  hearing. 

When  the  brethren  considered  the  spring  suffi- 
ciently open  for  traveling  on  the  water,  we  all  began 
to  prepare  for  our  removal  to  Kirtland.  We  hired  a 
boat  of  a  certain  Methodist  preacher,  and  appointed 
a  time  to  meet  at  our  house,  for  the  purpose  of  setting 
off  together;  and  when  we  were  thus  collected,  we 
numbered  eighty  souls.  .The  people  of  the  surround- 
ing country  came  and  bade  us  farewell,  invoking  the 
blessing  of  heaven  upon  our  heads. 

A  few  minutes  before  we  started,  an  old  brother 
by  the  name  of  Humphrey,  arrived  from  Potsdam. 
This  man  was  brought  into  the  church  by  Don  Carlos, 
at  the  time  that  he  visited  his  grandfather  in  com- 
pany with  my  husband.  At  this  time.  Brother 
Humphrey  was  the  oldest  man  who  was  an  elder  in 
the  church,  and  Don  Carlos  the  youngest. 

On  account  of  Brother  Humphrey's  age,  I  wished 
him  to  take  charge  of  the  company,  but  he  refused, 
saying  that  everything  should  be  done,  just  as 
Mother  Smith  said;  and  to  this  the  whole  company 
responded,  "Yes."    At  that  instant,  one  Esquire 


210  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Chamberlain  came  on  board,  and  asked  me  if  I  had 
what  money  I  wanted  to  make  my  family  comforta- 
ble, I  replied  that  I  had  an  abundance  for  myself 
and  children,  but  he  might,  perhaps,  find  some  on 
board  who  stood  in  need  of  assistance.  "Well," 
said  he,  "here  is  a  little  money,  and  you  can  deal  it 
out  as  you  like,"  and,  handing  me  seventeen  dollars, 
he  left  the  boat.  Soon  after  this  we  were  pushed 
off  and  under  fine  headway. 

I  then  called  the  brethren  and  sis-ters  together, 
and  reminded  them  that  we  were  traveling  by  the 
commandment  of  the  Lord,  as  much  as  father  Lehi 
was,  when  he  left  Jerusalem;  and,  if  faithful,  we 
had  the  same  reason  to  expect  the  blessings  of  God. 
I  then  desired  them  to  be  solemn,  and  to  lift  their 
hearts  to  God  continually  in  prayer,  that  we  might 
be  prospered.  We  then  seated  ourselves  and  sang 
a  hymn.  The  captain  was  so  delighted  with  the 
music  that  he  called  to  the  mate,  saying,  "Do,  for 
God's  sake,  come  here,  and  steer  the  boat;  for  I 
must  hear  that  singing."  He  afterwards  expressed 
his  pleasure  and  surprise  at  seeing  such  an  appear- 
ance of  devotion  among  us,  stating  that  his  wife  had 
refused  to  accompany  him,  on  account  of  her  preju- 
dice against  us,  which  he  very  much  regretted. 

At  the  approach  of  sunset,  we  seated  ourselves, 
and  sang  another  hymn.  The  music  sounded  beauti- 
ful upon  the  water,  and  had  a  salutary  effect  upon 
every  heart,  filling  our  souls  with  love  and  gratitude 
to  God,  for  his  manifold  goodness  towards  us. 

The  services  of  the  evening  being  ended,  I  in- 
quired of  the  brethren  concerning  the  amount  of 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


211 


provisions  which  they  had  on  hand  for  the  journey; 
and,  to  my  surprise,  I  ascertained  that  we  had  on 
board,  besides  twenty  grown  persons,  thirty  chil- 
dren, who  were  almost  destitute  of  food.  This  was 
unaccountable  to  me  at  first,  but  I  afterwards 
learned  that  they  had  converted  their  substance  into 
clothing,  expecting  that  those  who  were  in  better 
circumstances  would  support  them,  as  well  as  defray 
their  traveling  expenses ;  those ,  however,  from 
whom  they  expected  the  most  assistance,  disap- 
pointed them,  consequently,  the  burden  was  thrown 
entirely  upon  my  shoulders.  From  this  time  for- 
ward I  furnished  the  whole  fifty  persons  with  food 
from  day  to  day. 

I  soon  discovered  among  the  mothers,  a  kind  of 
carelessness  with  regard  to  their  children,  even  when 
their  lives  were  in  danger.  So  I  called  them  to- 
gether, and  endeavored  to  impress  upon  their  minds 
the  importance  of  doing  their  duty  to  their  children ; 
that  in  such  a  place  as  this,  especially,  they  ought  to 
keep  them  constantly  by  their  side ;  that  they  should 
consider,  that  children  were  given  to  them  for  a 
blessing,  and  if  they  did  not  treat  them  as  such,  they 
would  be  taken  from  them.  Still  they  were  negli- 
gent, and  excused  themselves  by  saying  that  their 
children  were  disobedient.  I  told  the  sisters  that  I 
could  manage  their  children,  and  if  they  were  not 
better  controlled  by  their  mothers,  I  should  take  the 
control  of  them. 

I  then  called  the  children  around  me,  and  said  to 
them,  "Now,  children,  mark  what  I  say  to  you. 
When  I   come  up-stairs,  and  raise  my  hand,  you 


212  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

must,  every  one  of  you,  run  to  me  as  fast  as  you  can. 
Will  you  do  as  I  tell  you?" 

"Yes,"  they  replied,  with  one  unanimous  voice. 
And  they  strictly  kept  their  faith  to  the  end  of  the 
journey. 

On  getting  about  half  v^^ay  to  Buffalo,  the  canal 
broke.  This  gave  rise  to  much  murmuring  and  dis- 
contentment, which  was  expressed  in  terms  like  the 
following : 

"Well,  the  canal  is  broke  now,  and  here  we  are, 
and  here  we  are  likely  to  be,  for  we  can  go  no 
further.  We  have  left  our  homes,  and  here  we  have 
no  means  of  getting  a  living,  consequently  we  shall 
have  to  starve." 

"No,  no,"  said  I,  "you  will  not  starve,  brethren, 
nor  anything  of  that  sort;  only  do  be  patient  and 
stop  your  murmuring.  I  have  no  doubt  but  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  is  over  us  for  good;  perhaps  it  is 
best  for  us  to  be  here  a  short  time.  It  is  quite  proba- 
ble that  the  boats  can  not  leave  Buffalo  harbor  on 
account  of  the  ice;  if  so,  the  town  must  inevitably 
be  crowded  with  families,  in  which  case  it  would  be 
next  to  impossible  for  us  to  get  into  a  comfortable 
house.  Are  we  not  in  far  better  circumstances  m 
our  present  situation?" 

"Well,  well,"  returned  the  sisters,  "I  suppose  you 
know  best ;  but  it  does  seem  as  if  it  would  have  been 
better  for  us  to  have  stayed  where  we  were,  for 
there  we  could  sit  in  our  rocking-chairs,  and  take  as 
much  comfort  as  we  pleased,  but  here  we  are  tired 
out,  and  have  no  place  to  rest  ourselves." 

Whilst  this  was  passing,  a  citizen  of  the  place 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


213 


came  on  board,  and  after  inquiring  what  denomina- 
tion we  belonged  to,  he  requested  that  if  there  were 
any  preachers  on  board,  a  meeting  might  be  ap- 
pointed in  the  neighborhood.  I  introduced  him  to 
Elders  Humphrey  and  Page,  who  appointed  a  meet- 
ing for  the  next  day,  which  was  held  on  a  beautiful 
green,  bordering  on  the  canal,  and  of  sufficient  size 
to  accommodate  a  hundred  persons.  They  listened 
with  attention,  and  requested  that  another  meeting 
might  be  appointed  for  the  succeeding  day,  but, 
as  the  canal  was  repaired  by  eleven  o'clock,  we  pro- 
ceeded on  our  journey,  and  arrived  at  Buffalo  on  the 
fifth  day  after  leaving  Waterloo. 

Here  we  found  the  brethren  from  Colesville,  who 
informed  us  that  they  had  been  detained  one  week 
in  this  place,  waiting  for  navigation  to  open.  Also, 
that  Mr.  Smith  and  Hyrum  had  gone  through  to 
Kirtland  by  land,  in  order  to  be  there  by  the  first  of 
April, 

I  asked  them  if  they  confessed  to  the  people  that 
they  were  "Mormons."  "No,  indeed,"  they  replied, 
"neither  must  you  mention  a  word  about  your 
religion,  for  if  you  do  you  will  never  be  able  to  get 
a  house,  or  a  boat  either." 

I  told  them  I  should  tell  the  people  precisely  who 
I  was.  "And,"  continued  I,  "if  you  are  ashamed  of 
Christ,  you  must  not  expect  to  be  prospered;  and  I 
shall  wonder  if  we  do  not  get  to  Kirtland  before 
you." 

While  we  were  talking  with  the  Colesville  breth- 
ren, anotjier  boat  landed,  having  on  board  about 
thirty  brethren,   among  whom   was   Thomas  B. 


214  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Marsh,  who  immediately  joined  us,  and,  like  the 
Colesville  brethren,  he  was  decidedly  opposed  to  our 
attending  to  prayer,  or  making  known  that  we  were 
professors  of  religion.  He  said  that  if  our  company 
persisted  in  singing  and  praying,  as  we  had  hitherto 
done,  we  should  be  mobbed  before  the  next  morning. 

"Mob  it  is,  then,"  said  I,  "we  shall  attend  to  prayer 
before  sunset,  mob  or  no  mob."  Mr.  Marsh,  at 
this,  felt  considerably  irritated.  I  then  requested 
iirothers  Humphrey  and  Page  to  go  around  among 
the  boatmen,  and  inquire  for  one  Captain  Blake, 
who  was  formerly  captain  of  a  boat  belonging  to  my 
brother.  General  Mack,  and  who,  upon  my  brother's 
decease,  purchased  the  boat,  and  still  commanded 
the  same.  They  went  in  search  of  the  man,  and 
soon  found  him,  and  learned  from  him  that  his  boat 
was  already  laden  with  the  usual  amount  of  passen- 
gers and  freight.  He  said,  however,  that  he  thought 
he  could  make  room  for  us  if  we  would  take  a  deck 
passage.  As  this  was  our  only  opportunity,  we 
moved  our  goods  on  board  the  next  day,  and  by  the 
time  that  we  had  fairly  settled  ourselves,  it  began 
to  rain.  This  rendered  our  situation  very  uncom- 
fortable, and  some  of  the  sisters  complained  bitterly 
because  we  had  not  hired  a  house  till  the  boat  was 
ready  to  start.  In  fact,  their  case  was  rather  a  try- 
ing one,  for  some  of  them  had  sick  children,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  Brother  Page  went  out  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  a  room  for  the  women  and  sick 
children,  but  returned  unsuccessful.  At  this  the 
sisters  renewed  their  complaints,  and  declared  that 
they  would  have  a  house,  let  the  consequences  be 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


215 


what  they  might.  In  order  to  satisfy  them,  I  set 
out  myself,  with  my  son  William,  although  it  was 
still  raining  very  fast,  to  see  if  it  were  possible  to 
procure  a  shelter  for  them  and  their  children. 

I  stopped  at  the  first  tavern,  and  inquired  of  the 
landlord  if  he  could  let  me  have  a  room  for  some 
women  and  children  who  were  sick.  The  landlord 
replied  that  he  could  easily  make  room  for  them. 
At  this,  a  woman  who  was  present  turned  upon  him 
very  sharply,  saying,  "I  have  put  up  here  myself,  and 
I  am  not  a  going  to  have  anybody's  things  in  my 
way.  I'll  warrant  the  children  have  got  the  whoop- 
ing-cough or  measles,  or  some  other  contagious 
disease,  and,  if  they  come,  I  will  go  somewhere  else." 

"Why,  madam,"  said  the  landlord,  "that  is  not 
necessary;  you  can  still  have  one  large  room." 

"I  don't  care,"  said  she,  "I  want  'em  both,  and  if 
I  can't  have  'em,  I  won't  stay — that's  it." 

"Never  mind,"  said  I,  "it  is  no  matter;  I  suppose  I 
can  get  a  room  somewhere  else,  just  as  well." 

"No,  you  can't  though,"  rejoined  the  lady,  "for 
we  hunted  all  over  the  town,  and  we  could  not  find 
one  single  one  till  we  got  here." 

I  left  immediately,  and  went  on  my  way.  Pres- 
ently I  came  to  a  long  row  of  rooms,  one  of  which 
appeared  to  be  almost  vacant.  I  inquired  if  it  could 
be  rented  for  a  few  days.  The  owner  of  the  buildings 
I  found  to  be  a  cheerful  old  lady,  near  seventy  years 
of  age.  I  mentioned  the  circumstances  to  her,  as  I 
before  had  done  to  the  landlord. 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  she;  "where  be  you 
going?" 


216  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

"To  Kirtland,"  I  replied. 

"What  be  you?"  said  she.    "Be  you  Baptists?" 

I  told  her  that  we  were  "Mormons." 

"Mormons!"  ejaculated  she,  in  a  quick,  g^ood- 
natured  tone.  "What  be  they?  I  never  heard  of 
them  before." 

"I  told  you  that  we  were  'Mormons,'  "  I  replied, 
"because  that  is  what  the  world  calls  us,  but  the  -only 
name  we  acknowledge  is  Latter  Day  Saints." 

"Latter  Day  Saints!"  rejoined  she,  "I  never  heard 
of  them  either." 

I  then  informed  her  that  this  church  was  brought 
forth  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  prophet,  and 
that  I  was  the  mother  of  this  prophet. 

"What!"  said  she,  "a  prophet  in  these  days!  I 
never  heard  of  the  like  in  my  life;  and  if  you  will 
come  and  sit  with  me,  you  shall  have  a  room  for  your 
sisters  and  their  children,  but  you  yourself  must 
come  and  stay  with  me,  and  tell  me  all  about  it." 

This  I  promised  to  do,  and  then  returned  to  the 
boat,  and  had  the  sisters  and  their  sick  children 
removed  to  the  old  lady's  house;  and  after  making 
them  comfortable,  I  went  into  her  room.  We  soon 
fell  into  conversation,  in  which  I  explained  to  her, 
as  clearly  as  I  could,  the  principles  of  the  gospel. 
On  speaking  of  the  laying  on  of  hands  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  she  was  as  much  surprised 
as  those  disciples  were  whom  Paul  found  at  Ephesus, 
and  she  asked  me,  "What  do  you  mean  by  the  Holy 
Ghost?"  I  continued  my  explanations  until  after 
two  o'clock  the  next  morning,  when  we  removed  to 
the  boat  again.    On  arriving  there.  Captain  Blake 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


217 


requested  the  passengers  to  remain  on  board,  as  he 
wished  from  that  time,  to  be  ready  to  start  at  a 
moment's  warning;  at  the  same  time  he  sent  out  a 
man  to  measure  the  depth  of  the  ice,  who,  when  he 
returned,  reported  that  it  was  piled  up  to  the  height 
of  twenty  feet,  and  that  it  was  his  opinion  that  we 
would  remain  'n  the  harbor  at  least  two  weeks 
longer. 

At  this,  Porter  Rockwell  started  on  shore  to  see  his 
uncle.  His  mother  endeavored  to  prevent  him,  but 
he  paid  no  attention  to  her,  and  she  then  appealed 
to  me,  saying,  "Mother  Smith,  do  get  Porter  back, 
for  he  won't  mind  anybody  but  you."  I  told  him 
that,  if  he  went,  we  should  leave  him  on  shore,  but 
he  could  do  as  he  liked.  He  left  the  boat,  and  several 
others  were  about  following  him;  but  when  I  spoke 
to  them,  they  replied,  "We  will  do  just  as  you  say. 
Mother  Smith,"  and  returned  immediately. 

Just  then  William  whispered  in  my  ear,  "Mother, 
do  see  the  confusion  yonder;  won't  you  go  and  put 
a  stop  to  it!" 

I  went  to  that  part  of  the  boat  where  the  principal 
portion  of  our  company  was.  There  I  found  several 
of  the  brethren  and  sisters  engaged  in  a  warm 
debate,  others  murmuring  and  grumbling,  and  a 
number  of  young  ladies  were  flirting,  giggling,  and 
laughing  with  gentlemen  passengers,  who  were 
entire  strangers  to  them,  whilst  hundreds  of  people 
on  shore  and  on  other  boats  were  witnessing  this 
scene  of  clamor  and  vanity  among  our  brethren  with 
great  interest.  I  stepped  into  their  midst.  "Breth- 
ren and  sisters,"  said  I,  "we  call  ourselves  Saints, 


218  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

and  profess  to  have  come  out  from  the  world  for  the 
purpose  of  serving  God  at  the  expense  of  all  earthly 
things;  and  will  you,  at  the  very  onset,  subject  the 
cause  of  Christ  to  ridicule  by  your  own  unwise  and 
improper  conduct?  You  profess  to  put  your  trust 
in  God;  then  how  can  you  feel  to  murmur  and  com- 
plain as  you  do?  You  are  even  more  unreasonable 
than  the  children  of  Israel  were;  for  here  are  my 
sisters  pining  for  their  rocking-chairs,  and  brethren 
from  whom  I  expected  firmness  and  energy,  declare 
that  they  positively  believe  they  shall  starve  to  death 
before  they  get  to  the  end  of  the  journey.  And  why 
is  it  so?  Have  any  of  you  lacked?  Have  not  I  set 
food  before  you  every  day,  and  made  you,  who  had 
not  provided  for  yourselves,  as  welcome  as  my  own 
children?  Where  is  your  faith?  Where  is  your 
confidence  in  God?  Can  you  not  realize  that  all 
things  were  made  by  him,  and  that  he  rules  over 
the  works  of  his  own  hands?  And  suppose  that 
all  the  Saints  here  should  lift  their  hearts  in  prayer 
to  God,  that  the  way  might  be  opened  before  us, 
how  easy  it  would  be  for  him  to  cause  the  ice  to 
break  away,  so  that  in  a  moment  we  could  be  on 
our  journey!" 

Just  then  a  man  on  shore  cried,  "Is  the  Book  of 
Mormon  true?" 

"That  book,"  replied  I,  "was  brought  forth  by  the 
power  of  God,  and  translated  by  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost;  and,  if  I  could  make  my  voice  sound  as 
loud  as  the  trumpet  of  Michael,  the  Archangel,  I 
would  declare  the  truth  from  land  to  land,  and  from 
sea  to  sea,  and  the  echo  should  reach  to  every  isle, 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


219 


until  every  member  of  the  family  of  Adam  should  be 
left  without  excuse.  For  I  do  testify  that  God  has  re- 
vealed himself  to  man  again  in  these  last  days,  and 
set  his  hand  to  gather  his  people  upon  a  goodly  land, 
and,  if  they  obey  his  commandments,  it  shall  be 
unto  them  for  an  inheritance ;  whereas,  if  they  rebel 
against  his  law,  his  hand  will  be  against  them  to 
scatter  them  abroad,  and  cut  them  off  from  the  face 
of  the  earth;  and  that  he  has  commenced  a  work 
which  will  prove  a  savor  of  life  unto  life,  or  of 
death  unto  death,  to  every  one  that  stands  here  this 
day — of  life  unto  life,  if  you  will  receive  it,  or  of 
death  unto  death,  if  you  reject  the  counsel  of  God, 
for  every  man  shall  have  the  desires  of  his  heart;  if 
he  desires  the  truth,  he  may  hear  and  live,  but  if  he 
tramples  upon  the  simplicity  of  the  word  of  God,  he 
will  shut  the  gate  of  heaven  against  himself."  Then, 
turning  to  our  own  company,  I  said,  "Now,  brethren 
and  sisters,  if  you  will  all  of  you  raise  your  desires 
to  heaven,  that  the  ice  may  be  broken  up,  and  we 
be  set  at  liberty,  as  sure  as  the  Lord  lives  it  will  be 
done."  At  that  instant  a  noise  was  heard,  like 
bursting  thunder.  The  captain  cried,  "Every  man 
to  his  post."  The  ice  parted,  leaving  barely  a  pass- 
age for  the  boat,  and  so  narrow,  that,  as  the  boat 
passed  through,  the  buckets  of  the  water-wheel  were 
torn  off  with  a  crash,  which,  joined  to  the  word  of 
command  from  the  captain,  the  hoarse  answering 
of  the  sailors,  the  noise  of  the  ice,  and  the  cries  and 
confusion  of  the  spectators,  presented  a  scene  truly 
terrible.  We  had  barely  passed  through  the  avenue, 
when  the  ice  closed  together  again,  and  the  Coles- 


220  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

ville  brethren  were  left  in  Buffalo,  unable  to  follow 
us.  As  we  were  leaving  the  harbor,  one  of  the  by- 
standers exclaimed,  "There  goes  the  Mormon  com- 
pany! That  boat  is  sunk  in  the  water  nine  inches 
deeper  than  ever  it  was  before,  and,  mark  it,  she 
will  sink — there  is  nothing  surer."  In  fact,  they 
were  so  sure  of  it  that  they  went  straight  to  the 
office  and  had  it  published  that  we  were  sunk,  so  that 
when  we  arrived  at  Fairport,  we  read  in  the  papers 
the  news  of  our  own  death. 

After  our  miraculous  escape  from  the  wharf  at 
Buffalo,  we  called  our  company  together,  and  had 
a  prayer-meeting,  in  which  we  offered  up  our  thanks 
to  God  for  his  mercy,  which  he  had  manifested 
towards  us  in  our  deliverance ;  but  before  our  meet- 
ing was  broken  up,  the  captain's  mate  came  to  me 
and  said,  "Mrs.  Smith,  do,  for  God's  sake,  have  your 
children  stop  praying,  or  we  shall  all  go  to  hell 
together;  we  can  not  keep  one  single  man  to  his 
post,  if  we  should  go  to  the  Devil,  for  they  are  so 
taken  up  with  your  praying."  Therefore  our  meet- 
ing was  broken  up. 

Soon  after  leaving  Buffalo,  some  of  our  company 
began  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  motion  of  the  boat, 
and  were  overcome  with  seasickness.  I  went  to  the 
cook,  and,  handing  him  twenty-five  cents,  asked  him 
if  he  could  let  me  have  some  hot  water  for  the  sick 
folks.  He  complied  with  my  request,  and  I  was 
thus  fulmished  with  the  means  of  making  them  com- 
fortable. 

Upon  further  acquaintance  with  the  captain,  I 
made  myself  known  to  him  as  the  sister  of  General 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


221 


Mack.  He  seemed  highly  pleased  to  find  in  me  a 
relative  of  his  old  friend;  and  I  was  treated  with 
great  attention  and  respect,  both  by  himself  and 
crew,  while  I  remained  on  the  boat. 

A  short  time  before  we  arrived  at  Fairport, 
Brother  Humphrey  and  myself  went  on  shore  to  do 
some  trading  for  the  company.  While  on  shore,  this 
brother  told  me  that  I  was  making  a  slave  of  myself 
unnecessarily;  that  those  sisters  whose  families  I 
had  the  care  of  could  as  well  wait  upon  their  own 
husbands  and  children,  as  for  me  to  do  it;  that,  as 
for  himself,  he  was  not  going  to  stay  on  board  much 
longer.  I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  but  told 
him  that  I  thought  I  could  get  along  with  the  work 
without  injuring  myself.  Nothing  further  passed 
between  us  upon  the  subject.  At  the  next  landing 
he  left,  and  whither  he  went  I  did  not  know. 

On  drawing  near  Fairport,  where  we  were  to  land, 
the  captain,  passengers,  and  crew,  bade  me  farewell 
in  tears.  After  landing,  our  company  were  more 
disheartened  than  ever,  and  the  brethren  came 
around  me  and  requested  that  I  should  set  their 
wives  to  sewing  blankets  together,  and  making  tents 
of  them,  that  the  men  might  camp  by  their  goods 
and  watch  them,  for  they  had  no  hopes  of  getting 
any  further. 

I  told  them  I  should  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  As 
for  the  sisters,  some  of  them  were  crying,  some 
pouting,  and  a  few  of  them  attending  to  the  care 
of  their  families.  As  I  passed  among  them,  my 
attention  was  attracted  by  a  stranger,  who  sat  a 
short  distance  from  us  on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  I 


222  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

inquired  of  him  the  distance  to  Kirtland.  He,  start- 
ing up,  exclaimed,  "Is  it  possible  that  this  is  Mother 
Smith?  I  have  sat  here  looking  for  you  these  three 
days." 

Replying  to  his  question  in  the  affirmative,  I  asked 
him  if  it  would  be  possible  to  procure  teams  to  take 
our  goods  to  Kirtland.  He  told  me  to  give  myself 
no  uneasiness  about  the  matter,  that  Joseph  was 
expected  every  hour,  and  in  less  than  twenty-four 
hours  there  would  be  teams  sufficient  to  take  all  our 
company  to  houses  that  were  waiting  to  receive 
them.  When  he  mentioned  Joseph's  name,  I  started, 
for  I  just  began  to  realize  that  I  was  so  soon  to  see 
both  my  husband  and  my  sons.  I  turned  from  the 
stranger,  and  met  Samuel,  who  was  coming  towards 
me,  closely  followed  by  Joseph.  I  extended  my  right 
hand  to  Samuel  and  my  left  to  Joseph.  They 
wept  for  joy  upon  seeing  me — Samuel,  because  he 
had  been  warned  of  God  in  a  dream  to  meet  the 
company  from  Waterloo,  and  feared  that  some  dis- 
aster had  befallen  me;  and  Joseph,  because  of  the 
information  which  he  had  received  from  Brother 
Humphrey,  who  had  arrived  at  Kirtland  a  short 
time  before  this,  he  having  informed  Joseph  that  he 
apprehended,  from  the  fatigue  I  was  undergoing, 
that  my  life  was  in  danger. 

After  they  informed  me  of  these  things,  Joseph 
said  he  should  take  me  from  the  company.  As  the 
sisters  begged  to  go  with  me,  he  took  them  as  far 
as  Painesville,  where  we  stopped  at  the  house  of 
Brother  Partridge.  Here  we  found  a  fine  supper 
prepared  for  the  whole  company. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


223 


Soon  after  partaking  of  this  refreshment,  I  was 
taken  to  Brother  Kingsbury's,  in  his  own  carriage, 
where  I  was  treated  with  great  kindness  and  respect. 
From  this  place  I  went  with  Joseph  to  Kirtland.  The 
first  house  that  I  entered-  was  Brother  Morley's. 
Here  I  met  my  beloved  husband,  and  great  was  our 
joy.  Many  of  my  readers  may  know  my  present 
situation.  These  can  imagine  with  what  feelings  I 
recite  such  scenes  as  that  which  followed  the  reunion 
of  our  family;  but  let  it  pass — imagination  must 
supply  the  elipsis.  Were  I  to  indulge  my  feelings 
upon  such  occasions  as  this,  my  strength  would  not 
support  me  to  the  end  of  my  narrative. 

Soon  after  arriving  at  Kirtland,  a  pair  of  twins 
were  brought  to  Emma,  which  were  given  to  her  to 
fill  the  place  of  a  pair  of  her  own  that  had  died. 


CHAPTER  XL. 
SAMUEL  smith's  FIRST  MISSION  TO  MISSOURI. 

We  remained  two  weeks  at  Mr.  Morley's,  then 
removed  our  family  to  a  farm  which  had  been  pur- 
chased by  Joseph  for  the  church.  On  this  farm  my 
family  were  all  established  with  this  arrangement, 
that  we  were  to  cultivate  the  farm,  and,  from  the 
fruits  of  our  labor,  we  were  to  receive  our  support ; 
but  all  over  and  above  this  was  to  be  used  for  the 
comfort  of  strangers  or  brethren,  who  were  travel- 
ing through  the  place. 


224  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

About  this  time  Joseph  was  requested  by  Parley 
P.  Pratt  and  his  company,  who  were  then  in  Mis- 
souri, to  send  some  elders  to  assist  them.  He  in- 
quired of  the  Lord,  and  received  the  revelation  con- 
tained in  the  Times  and 'Seasons,  volume  5,  page  416, 
in  which  Samuel  H.  Smith  and  Reynolds  Gaboon 
were  appointed  to  go  together  to  Missouri.  They 
departed  immediately  on  their  mission.  Before  they 
had  proceeded  far,  they  called  at  a  town,  the  name 
of  which  I  do  not  remember,  where  they  found  Wil- 
liam E.  McLellin,  who  was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  a 
store.  After  making  a  little  inquiry,  they  found 
that  Mr.  McLellin  was  anxious  to  hear  them  preach, 
and  that  he  was, willing  to  make  some  exertion  to 
obtain  a  house  and  congregation  for  them,  for  the 
name  of  Latter' Day  Saint  was  new  to  him,  and  he 
felt  curious  to  hear  what  the  principles  of  our  faith 
were.  So,  by  his  interposition,  they  soon  had  a 
large  congregation  seated  in  a  comfortable  room. 
They  preached  that  evening  and  the  next  morning 
they  pursued  their  journey. 

Shortly  after  they  left,  Mr.  McLellin  became  very 
uneasy  respecting  his  new  acquaintances;  he  felt 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  have  gone  with  them  and 
assisted  them  on  their  journey.  This  feeling  worked 
so  strongly  in  his  breast  as  to  deprive  him  of  rest 
all  the  ensuing  night;  and,  before  morning,  he  con- 
cluded to  set  out  for  Missouri,  at  the  hazard  of  busi- 
ness, character,  and  everything  else.  Accordingly, 
after  settling  with  his  employer,  he  started  in  pur- 
suit of  Samuel  rfnd  Brother  Gaboon.    He  passed 


AND  atfri^PmfGHKITORS 


225 


them  on  their  way,  atid' got  to  Missouri,  and  was 
baptized  before  they  arriverl  there. 

On  their  route,  SanvcteK I  fcttd  Brother  Cahoon  suf- 
fered great  privations,  sa^iji^iw^nt  of  rest  and  food. 
At  the  time  that  they^gtatlBd  fof  Missouri,  near 
fifty  others  also  set  out  f^ftW'same^place,  all  taking 
^different  routes.  When  thajf  ^j^^i^^i^,  they  dedicated 
the  spot  for  the  Temple.  l&^O/lt  ih^^  time,  or  soon 
after,  a  number  of  revelatiQi^Y,TJfj^fSF'^®^^^^  which 
the  reader  will  find  by  f oli^^8[ ,  ine  history  of 
Joseph  in  the  Times  and  S^^^^n^  vqmme  5,  from 
page  448  to  page  446.  A  claus^u^'j^liej<%fi^these  reads 
as  follows :  "Let  my  servant  I^^i^ldSjjpahoon,  and 
my  servant  Samuel  H.  Smith,  wi|!^^"fvhom  J  am  well 
pleased,  be  not  separated  until  to  their 

homes,  and  this  for  a  wise  purpd^^^^l^j^^" — ^Page 
465.  And  here,  let  me  say,  that  .Sj^^^viel  was  never 
censured  by  revelation,  to  my  kn^^le^ge^t^^or  he 
always  performed  his  missions  fa!^ful^,ii^d  his 
work  was  well  approved.  -^htt  "91  ,a) 

-  Q.M  iO  t 


226 


^mmism  xli. 

LUC^^^^I?  -pSlTS  DETROIT. 

As  Hyrum,<my''(bffieSiJ'^n,  was  directed  to  go  t6 
Missouri  by  tfi^Wd^'^'  Detroit,  I  thought  it  would 
be  a  good  <*2>|rtJ-  to  visit  the  family  of  my 

brother,  GeWerai.^fi^c.  Accordingly,  my  niece, 
Almira  Mstck;  R^m,  Brethren  Murdock,  Lyman 
Wight,  and^dVi^^nd  I,  set  out  together  for  Detroit. 
When  we'^i^!;*^^^^Pon  board  the  vessel  which  took 
us  across  we  concluded  to  keep  perfectly 

still  upo6fi*t!ftl^'^^ct  of  religion ;  but  it  was  after- 
wards -^fh^^^y  Hyrum,  that  Mother  Smith 
should  'hat  she  pleased,  and  if  she  got 

into  diflS^irfti^,  We  elders  should  help  her  out  of  it. 
Shorfil^^  iiSlter'#is  I  was  sitting  at  the  door  of  the 
cabin," oreadiag  the  Bo-ok  of  Mormon,  when  a  lady 
catn^iup''ind  inquired  of  me  what  book  I  was  read- 
ing; Book  of  Mormon,"  I  replied.    But  the 
tMle  <jf\  the^ook  was  no  advantage  to  her,  for  she 
lwHi\nqver  before  heard  of  there  being  such  a  work 
^  existence.    By  her  request  I  gave  her  a  brief  his- 
tory of  'iWie  discovery  and  translation  of  the  book. 
,>jThi3  .<3jeUghted  her,  and  when  I  mentioned  that  it 
/  al?^ft?e  ft'"i1''ecord  of  the  origin  of  the  aborigines  of 
1^  ''  a,  she  said,  "How  I  do  ivish  I  could  get  one 
dOl  .    ..I  books  to  carry  to  my  husband,  for  he  is  now 
"51  missionary  among  the  Indians. 

Just  then  another  lady,  who  was  a  doctor's  wife, 


^ 

AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


227 


came  near  us,  with  the  appearance  of  wishin.e  to 
hear  our  conversation.  She  was  gorgeously  dressed, 
and  carried  herself  very  daintily,  I  assure  you.  She 
wore  a  splendid  satin  scarf,  which,  as  she  walked 
to  and  fro  before  us,  she  would  occasionally  let  fall 
from  the  left  shoulder,  and  expose  a  neck  and  bosom 
decorated  with  very  brilliant  jewels.  Presently  she 
stopped  short,  and  said,  "I  do  not  want  to  hear  any 
more  of  that  stuff,  or  anything  more  about  Joe  Smith 
either.  They  say  that  he  is  a  Mormon  prophet ;  but 
it  is  nothing  but  deception  and  lies.  There  was  one 
Mr.  Murdock,  who  believed  in  Joe  Smith's  doctrines ; 
and  the  Mormons  all  believe  they  can  cure  the  sick 
and  raise  the  dead;  so  when  this  Mr.  Murdock's 
wife  was  sick,  he  refused  to  send  for  a  doctor, 
although  the  poor  woman  wanted  him  to  do  so,  and 
so  by  his  neglect  his  wife  died." 

I  fcold  her  that  I  thought  she  must  be  a  little  mis- 
taken, that  I  was  acquainted  with  the  family,  and 
knew  something  in  regard  to  the  matter. 

"I  know  all  about  it,"  said  the  lady. 

"Well,  now,  perhaps  not,"  said  I,  "just  stop  a 
moment  and  I  will  explain  it  to  you." 

"No,  I  won't,"  returned*  the  woman.  \ 

"Then,"  said  I,  "I  will  introduce  you  to  Mr.  Mur- 
dock, and  let  him  tell  the  story  himself."  I  then 
turned  to  Mr.  Murdock,  who  stood  near,  and  gave 
her  an  introduction  to  him.  Before  this,- however, 
the  chambermaid  went  down-stairs  and  complained 
to  the  doctor  of  his  wife's  unbecoming  behavior,  and 
before  she  had  heard  a  dozen  words  from  our 
brother,   her  husband    came    bustling  up-stairs. 


228  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

"Here,"  said  he  to  his  wife,  "they  tell  me  that  you 
are  abusing  the  old  lady";  and  taking  her  hand,  he 
drew  it  within  his  arm,  and  marched  her  off  with- 
out further  ceremony. 

This  circumstance  introduced  the  subject  of  "Mor- 
monism"  among  the  passengers,  and  it  continued  to 
be  the  topic  of  conversation  until  we  arrived  at 
Detroit.  On  landing  in  Detroit,  we  repaired  imme- 
diately to  a  tavern,  as  my  niece,  Mrs.  Cooper,  was 
exceedingly  nervous,  and  we  deemed  it  imprudent 
to  disturb  her  that  evening.  The  next  morning, 
Almira  Mack  and  myself  visited  Mrs.  Cooper,  who 
was  Almira's  sister.  Almira  went  into  her  room, 
and  found  her  lying  on  the  bed.  After  the  usual 
salutations  she  informed  Mrs.  Cooper  that  Aunt 
Lucy  was  in  the  parlor  waiting  to  see  her,  and 
requested  the  privilege  of  inviting  me  into  her  room ; 
but  it  was  some  time  before  her  nerves  were  suf- 
ficiently settled  to  see  me.  However,  before  I  was 
admitted  into  her  presence,  she  was  further  informed 
that  her  cousin  Hyrum,  as  also  several  other  elders, 
had  come  to  Detroit  in  company  with  me,  and  that 
I  would  expect  them  to  be  invited  as  well  as  myself. 
But  this  was  refused,  Mrs.  Cooper  declaring  that 
she  could  not  endure  the  presence  of  so  many  visit- 
ors. She  sent  for  me,  but  forbade  her  sister  invit- 
ing any  one  else. 

I  went  to  her,  and  after  the  compliments  were 
over,  I  said,  "Lovisa,  I  have  with  me  four  of  my 
brethren,  one  of  whom  is  your  cousin  Hyrum,  if  I 
stay  they  must  be  invited  also." 

"Oh!  no,  no;  I  never  can  consent  to  it,"  exclaimed 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


229 


she, — "Why,  aunt,  I  am  so  nervous,  I  am  scarcely 
ever  able  to  see  any  company." 

"Now,  Lovisa,"  I  replied,  "do  you  know  what  ails 
you?  I  can  tell  you  exactly  what  it  is:  there  is  a 
good  spirit  and  an  evil  one  operating  upon  you,  and 
the  bad  spirit  has  almost  got  possession  of  you ;  and 
when  the  good  spirit  is  the  least  agitated,  the  evil 
one  strives  for  the  entire  mastery,  and  sets  the  good 
spirit  to  fluttering,  just  ready  to  be  gone,  because  it 
has  so  slight  a  foothold.  But  you  have  been  so  for 
a  long  time,  and  you  may  yet  live  many  years.  These 
men  who  are  with  me  are  clothed  with  the  authority 
of  the  priesthood,  and  through  their  administration 
you  might  receive  a  blessing;  and  even  should  you 
not  be  healed,  do  you  not  wish  to  know  something 
about  your  Savior  before  you  meet  him?  Further- 
more, if  you  refuse  to  receive  my  brethren  into  your 
house,  I  shall  leave  it  myself." 

It  was  finally  concluded  that  a  sumptuous  dinner 
should  be  prepared,  and  that  the  brethren  should  all 
be  invited.  While  they  tarried  with  her  they  admin- 
istered to  her  twice  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  They  stopped  with  her  dur- 
ing the  day,  and  in  the  evening  left  for  Pontiac. 
When  she  learned  that  they  were  not  expected  back 
again,  she  seemed  greatly  distressed,  because  she  had 
not  urged  them  to  stay  and  preach. 

The  next  morning,  I  and  my  niece  set  out  for 
Pontiac,  in  the  first  stage,  to  visit  Sister  Mack,  my 
brother's  widow,  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Whiter- 
more.  Here  we  were  treated  with  great  attention 
and  respect  by  Mr.  Whitermore  and  his  family.  The 


230  JOSEPH   SMITH   THE  PROPHET, 

subject  of  religion  was  introduced  immsdialely  after 
our  arrival  and  continued  the  theme  of  conversation 
until  near  tea-time,  when  Sister  Mack  arose,  saying, 
"Sister  Lucy,  you  must  excuse  me,  for  I  find  my 
nerves  are  so  agitated  I  can  not  bear  conversation 
any  longer;  the  subject  is  so  entirely  new,  it  con- 
fuses my  mind."  I  then  requested  her  to  stop  a 
moment.  I  then  repeated  to  her  the  same  that  I 
had  done  two  days  previous  to  Lovisa,  adding,  "Sup- 
pose a  company  of  fashionable  people  were  to  come 
in  and  begin  to  talk  about  balls,  parties,  and  the 
latest  style  of  making  dresses,  do  you  think  that 
would  agitate  you  so?"  She  smiled  at  this,  and 
said,  "I  do  not  know  that  it  would.  Sister  Lucy ;  you 
know  that  those  are  more  common  things." 

I  then  told  her  that  I  would  excuse  her,  and  that 
she  might  go  where  she  pleased,  concluding  in  my 
own  mind  never  to  mention  the  subject  to  her  again, 
unless  it  should  be  by  her  own  request.  That  night 
we  slept  in  the  same  room.  When  I  was  about  retir- 
ing to  rest,  she  observed,  "Do  not  let  my  presence 
prevent  you  from  attending  to  any  duty  which  you 
have  practiced  at  home."  And  soon  afterwards  she 
again  remarked,  "The  house  is  now  still,  and  I  would 
be  glad  to  hear  you  talk,  if  you  are  not  too  much 
fatigued."  I  told  her  I  would  have  no  objections, 
provided  the  subject  of  religion  would  not  make  her 
nervous;  and,  as  she  did  not  think  it  would,  we 
commenced  conversation,  the  result  of  which  was, 
she  was  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel. 

In  a  few  days  subsequent  to  this,  we  all  set  out 
to  visit  Mrs.  Stanley,  who  was  also  my  brother's 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


231 


daughter.  Here  Mr.  Whitermore  gave  me  an  intro- 
duction to  one  Mr.  Ruggles,  the  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
bj-terian  church  to  which  this  Mr.  Whitermore 
belonged. 

"And  you,"  said  Mr.  Ruggles,  upon  shaking  hands 
with  me,  "are  the  mother  of  that  poor,  foolish,  silly 
boy,  Joe  Smith,  who  pretends  to  translate  the  Bock 
of  Mormon." 

I  looked  him  steadily  in  the  face,  and  replied,  "I 
am,  sir,  the  mother  of  Joseph  Smith;  but  why  do 
you  apply  to  him  such  epithets  as  those?" 

"Because,"  said  his  reverence,  "that  he  should 
imagine  he  was  going  to  break  down  all  other 
churches  with  that  simple  Mormon  book." 

"Did  you  ever  read  that  book?"  I  inquired. 

"No,"  said  he,  "it  is  beneath  my  notice." 

"But,"  rejoined  I,  "the  Scriptures  say.  Trove  all 
things';  and  now,  sir,  let  me  tell  you  boldly,  that 
that  book  contains  the  everlasting  gospel,  and  it  was 
written  for  the  salvation  of  your  soul,  by  the  gift 
and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

"Pooh,"  said  the  minister,  "nonsense — I  am  not 
afraid  of  any  member  of  my  church  being  led  astray 
by  such  stuff ;  they  have  too  much  intelligence." 

"Now,  Mr.  Ruggles,"  said  I,  and  I  spoke  with 
emphasis,  for  the  Spirit  of  God  was  upon  me,  "mark 
my  words — as  true  as  God  lives,  before  three  years 
we  will  have  more  than  one  third  of  your  church; 
and,  sir,  whether  you  believe  it  or  not,  we  will  take 
the  very  deacon,  too." 

This  produced  a  hearty  laugh  at  the  expense  of 
the  minister. 


232  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


Not  to  be  tedious,  I  will  say  that  I  remained  in 
this  section  of  the  country  about  four  weeks,  during 
which  time  I  labored  incessantly  for  the  truth's  sake, 
and  succeeded  in  gaining  the  hearts  of  many,  among 
whom  were  David  Dort  and  his  wife.  Many  desired 
me  to  use  my  influence  to  have  an  elder  sent  into 
that  region  of  country,  which  I  agreed  to  do.  As  I 
was  about  starting  home,  Mr.  Cooper  observed  that 
our  ministers  would  have  more  influence  if  they 
dressed  in  broadcloth. 

When  I  returned,  I  made  known  to  Joseph  the 
situation  of  things  where  I  had  been,  so  he  dis- 
patched Brother  Jared  Carter  to  that  country.  And 
in  order  that  he  might  not  lack  influence,  he  was 
dressed  in  a  suit  of  superfine  broadcloth.  He  went 
immediately  into  the  midst  of  Mr.  Ruggles'  church, 
and,  in  a  short  time,  brought  away  seventy  of  his 
best  members,  among  whom  was  the  deacon,  just  as 
I  told  the  minister.  This  deacon  was  Brother  Bent, 
who  now  presides  over  the  High  Council.^ 

In  less  than  a  month  after  my  arrival,  Samuel 
returned  home  from  Missouri,  and  remained  until 
the  succeeding  October,  at  which  time  a  revelation 
was  given,  commanding  him  and  William  McLellin 
to  go  to  the  town  of  Hiram,  which  was  about  thirty 
miles  distant.    Samuel  commenced  making  prepa- 

'Ootober,  1838,  Samuel  Bent  was  made  a  member  of  the 
High  Council  at  Far  West,  Missouri.  One  year  later  he  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  High  Council  at  Commerce  [after- 
wards called  Nauvoo],  Illinois.  We  'have  no  record  of  his 
being  president  of  the  High  Council  in  the  lifetime  of  Joseph 
Smith.  May  have  been  made  such  by  the  faction  under  Brig- 
ham  Young.  He  died  at  Garden  Grove,  Iowa,  August  16, 
1846.  H.  C.  S. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


233 


rations,  but  before  he  was  ready  to  start,  he  heard 
a  voice  in  the  night,  which  said,  "Samuel,  arise  im- 
mediately, and  go  forth  on  the  mission  which  thou 
wast  commanded  to  take  to  Hiram."  He  arose  from 
his  bed  and  took  what  clothing  he  had  in  readiness, 
and  set  off  without  further  delay. 

On  arriving  at  the  above-mentioned  place,  he 
found  William  E.  McLellin  there  according  to  previ- 
ous appointment.  Here  they  commenced  preaching 
together,  and  after  laboring  a  while  in  this  town, 
they  went  from  place  to  place,  bearing  testimony  of 
the  truth  in  whatever  city,  town,  or  village  they 
entered,  until  the  27th  of  December,  at  which  time 
they  arrived  at  Kirtland.  Samuel  was  not  long  per- 
mitted to  remain  at  home  in  quiet;  on  the  first  of 
January  he  was  sent,  with  Orson  Hyde,  on  a  mission 
into  the  eastern  country.  TJiey  went  and  preached 
from  city  to  city  until  they  were  called  home  to 
receive  the  ordinance  of  The  Washing  of  Feet. 


234 


JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

AN  EXTRACT  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  JOSEPH  THE 
PROPHET — SIDNEY  RIGDON'S  TRANSGRESSION 
— TROUBLE  IN  JACKSON  COUNTY. 

I  shall  now  return  to  the  month  of  September, 
1831.  Joseph,  at  this  time,  was  engaged  in  trans- 
lating the  Bible,  and  Sidney  Rigdon  was  writing  for 
him.  About  the  first  of  this  month,  Joseph  came  to 
the  conclusion  to  remove  himself  and  clerk,  as  well 
as  their  families,  to  the  before-mentioned  town  of 
Hiram,  in  order  to  expedite  the  work.  They  moved 
to  the  house  of  Father  Johnson,  and  lived  with  him 
in  peace  until  the  following  March,  when  a  circum- 
stance occurred,  which  I  shall  relate  in  his  own 
words : 

"On  the  25th  of  March  (1832),  the  twins  before 
mentioned,  which  had  been  sick  of  the  measles  for 
some  time,  caused  us  to  be  broke  of  our  rest  in  tak- 
ing care  of  them,  especially  my  wife.  In  the  evening 
I  told  her  she  had  better  retire  to  rest  with  one  of 
the  children,  and  I  would  watch  with  the  sickest 
child.  In  the  night  she  told  me  I  had  better  lie 
down  on  the  trundle-bed,  and  I  did  so,  and  was 
soon  after  awoke  by  her  screaming  murder!  when 
I  found  myself  going  out  of  the  door  in  the  hands 
of  about  a  dozen  men,  some  of  whose  hands  were  in 
my  hair,  and  some  hold  of  my  shirt,  drawers,  and 
limbs.    The  foot  of  the  trundle-bed  was  toward  the 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


235 


door,  leaving  only  room  enough  for  the  door  to 
swing.  My  wife  heard  a  gentle  tapping  on  the  win- 
dows, which  she  then  took  no  particular  notice  of 
(but  which  was  unquestionably  designed  for  ascer- 
taining whether  we  were  all  asleep) ,  and,  soon  after, 
the  mob  burst  open  the  door  and  surrounded  the  bed 
in  an  instant,  and,  as  I  said,  the  first  I  knew,  I 
was  going  out  of  the  door,  in  the  hands  of  an  infuri- 
ated mob.  I  made  a  desperate  struggle,  as  I  was 
forced  out,  to  extricate  myself,  but  only  cleared  one 
leg,  with  which  I  made  a  pass  at  one  man,  and  he  fell 
on  the  door  steps.  I  was  immediately  confined  again, 
and  they  swore  by  God  they  would  kill  me  if  I  did 
not  be  still,  which  quieted  me.  As  they  passed 
around  the  house  with  me,  the  fellow  that  I  kicked, 
came  to  me  and  thrust  his  hand  into  my  face  all 
covered  with  blood,  (for  I  hit  him  on  the  nose),  and 
with  an  exulting  horse  laugh,  muttered,  *Ge,  gee, 
God  d — 7)171  ye,  I'll  fix  ye.' 

"They  then  seized  me  by  the  throat,  and  held  on 
till  I  lost  my  breath.  After  I  came  to,  as  they  passed 
along  with  me,  about  thirty  rods  from  the  house,  I 
saw  Elder  Rigdon  stretched  out  on  the  ground, 
whither  they  had  dragged  him  by  the  heels.  I  sup- 
posed he  was  dead. 

"I  began  to  plead  with  them,  saying.  You  will  have 
mercy  and  spare  my  life,  I  hope.  To  which  they 
replied,  'God  d — mn  ye,  call  on  yer  God  for  help, 
we'll  show  ye  no  mercy;'  and  the  people  began  to 
show  themselves  in  every  direction ;  one  coming 
from  the  orchard  had  a  plank,  and  I  expected  they 
would  kill  me,  and  carry  me  off  on  a  plank.  They 


236  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

then  turned  to  the  right,  and  went  on  about  thirty 
rods  further — about  sixty  rods  from  the  house,  and 
thirty  from  where  I  saw  Elder  Rigdon — into  the 
meadow,  where  they  stopped,  and  one  said,  'Simonds, 
Simonds,'  (meaning,  I  suppose,  Simonds  Rider), 
'Pull  up  his  drawers,  pull  up  his  drawers,  he  will 
take  cold.'  Another  replied,  'Ar'nt  ye  going  to  kill 
im?  Ar'nt  ye  going  to  kill  'im?'  when  a  group  of  mob- 
bers  collected  a  little  way  off,  and  said,  'Simonds, 
Simonds,  come  here;'  and  Simonds  charged  those 
who  had  hold  of  me  to  keep  me  from  touching  the 
ground  (as  they  had  done  all  the  time),  lest  I  should 
get  a  spring  upon  them.  They  went  and  held  a 
council,  and  as  I  could  occasionally  overhear  a  word, 
I  supposed  it  was  to  know  whether  it  was  best  to  kill 
me.  They  returned,  after  a  while,  when  I  learned 
that  they  had  concluded  not  to  kill  me,  but  pound  and 
scratch  me  well,  tear  off  my  shirt  and  drawers,  and 
leave  me  naked.  One  cried,  'Simonds,  Simonds, 
where  is  the  tar  bucket?'  7  don't  know,'  answered 
one,  'where  'tis,  Eli's  left  it.'  They  ran  back  and 
fetched  the  bucket  of  tar,  when  one  exclaimed,  'God 
d — mn  it,  let's  tar  up  his  mouth;'  and  they  tried  to 
force  the  tar-paddle  into  my  mouth;  I  twisted  my 
head  around,  so  that  they  could  not;  and  they  cried 
out,  'God  d — mn  ye,  hold  up  your  head  and  let  us 
give  ye  some  tar.'  They  then  tried  to  force  a  vial 
into  my  mouth,  and  broke  it  in  my  teeth.  All  my 
clothes  were  torn  off  me,  except  my  shirt  collar ;  and 
one  man  fell  on  me  and  scratched  my  body  with  his 
nails  like  a  mad  cat,  then  muttered  out,  'God  d — mn 
ye  that's  the  way  the  Holy  Ghost  falls  on  folks.' 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


237 


"They  then  left  me,  and  I  attempted  to  rise,  but 
fell  again;  I  pulled  the  tar  away  from  my  lips,  etc., 
so  that  I  could  breathe  more  freely,  and  after  a  while 
1  began  to  recover,  and  raised  myself  up,  when  I  saw 
two  lights.  I  made  my  way  towards  one  of  them, 
and  found  it  was  Father  Johnson's.  When  I  had 
come  to  the  door  I  was  naked,  and  the  tar  made  me 
look  as  though  I  was  covered  with  blood ;  and  when 
my  wife  saw  me,  she  thought  I  was  all  mashed  to 
pieces,  and  fainted.  During  the  affray  abroad,  the 
sisters  of  the  neighborhood  had  collected  at  my  room. 
I  called  for  a  blanket,  they  threw  me  one  and  shut 
the  door ;  I  wrapped  it  around  me,  and  went  in.  .  .  . 

"My  friends  spent  the  night  in  scraping  and  re- 
moving the  tar,  and  washing  and  cleansing  my  body, 
so  that  by  morning  I  was  ready  to  be  clothed  again, 
ihis  being  Sabbath  morning,  the  people  assembled 
for  meeting  at  the  usual  hour  of  worship,  and  among 
those  came  also  the  mobbers,  viz,  Simonds  Rider,  a 
Campbellite  preacher,  and  leader  of  the  mob;  one 
M'Clentic,  son  of  a  Campbellite  minister;  and  Pela- 
tiah  Allen,  Esquire,  who  gave  the  mob  a  barrel  of 
whisky  to  raise  their  spirits;  and  many  others. 
With  my  flesh  all  scarified  and  defaced,  I  preached 
to  the  congregation,  as  usual,  and  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day  baptized  three  individuals." — Times 
and  Seasons,  volume  5,  page  611.  Millennial  Star, 
volume  14,  page  148. 

Sidney  Rigdon  went  immediately  to  Kirtland,  but 
Joseph  remained  at  Father  Johnson's  to  finish  his 
preparations  for  a  journey,  which  he  contemplated 
making  to  Missouri.    Immediately  after  Sidney's 


238  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

arrival  at  Kirtland,  we  met  for  the  purpose  of  hold- 
ing a  prayer-meeting,  and,  as  Sidney  had  not  been 
with  us  for  some  time,  we  hoped  to  hear  from  him 
upon  this  occasion.  We  waited  a  long  time  before 
he  made  his  appearance;  at  last  he  came  in,  seem- 
ingly much  agitated.  He  did  not  go  to  the  stand, 
but  began  to  pace  back  and  forth  through  the  house. 
My  husband  said,  "Brother  Sidney,  we  would  like  to 
hear  a  discourse  from  you  to-day."  Brother  Rigdon 
replied,  in  a  tone  of  excitement,  "The  keys  of  the 
kingdom  are  rent  from  the  church,  and  there  shall 
not  be  a  prayer  put  up  in  this  house  this  day."  "Oh ! 
no,"  said  Mr.  Smith,  "I  hope  not."  "I  tell  you  they 
are,"  rejoined  Elder  Rigdon,  "and  no  man  or  woman 
shall  put  up  a  prayer  in  this  place  to-day." 

This  greatly  disturbed  the  minds  of  many  sisters, 
and  some  brethren.  The  brethren  stared  and 
turned  pale,  and  the  sisters  cried.  Sister  Howe,  in 
particular,  was  very  much  terrified;  "Oh,  dear  me!" 
said  she,  "what  shall  we  do?  what  shall  we  do? 
The  keys  of  the  kingdom  are  taken  from  us,  and 
what  shall  we  do?"  "I  tell  you  again,"  said  Sidney, 
with  much  feeling,  "the  keys  of  the  kingdom  are 
taken  from  you,  and  you  never  will  have  them  again 
until  you  build  me  a  new  house." 

Hyrum  was  vexed  at  this  frivolous  nonsense,  and, 
taking  his  hat,  he  went  out  of  the  house,  saying, 
"I'll  put  a  stop  to  this  fuss,  pretty  quick;  I'm  going 
for  Joseph." 

"Oh,  don't,"  said  Sister  Howe,  "for  pity's  sake, 
don't  go  for  him.    Brother  Sidney  says  the  keys  of 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


239 


the  kingdom  are  taken  from  us,  and  where  is  the 
use  of  bringing  Joseph  here." 

Hyrum  took  a  horse,  and  went  immediately  to 
Father  Johnson's,  for  Joseph.  He  arrived  there  in 
the  afterpart  of  the  night,  and  having  aroused 
Joseph,  he  said,  "You  must  go  straight  with  me  to 
Kirtland;  we  are  having  terrible  times  there,  and  I 
want  you  to  come  up  and  see  to  things."  Joseph 
being  informed  of  the  precise  situation  of  affairs,  he 
got  a  horse  of  Father  Johnson,  and  started  without 
delay,  with  Hyrum,  for  Kirtland.  On  his  arrival 
there,  the  brethren  were  collected  for  meeting. 
Joseph  went  upon  the  stand,  and  informed  the 
brethren  that  they  were  under  a  great  mistake,  that 
the  church  had  not  transgressed;  "And,  as  for  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom,"  said  he,  "I,  myself,  hold  the 
keys  of  this  last  dispensation,  and  will  for  ever  hold 
them,  both  in  time  and  in  eternity;  so  set  your 
hearts  at  rest  upon  that  point,  all  is  right." 

He  then  went  on  and  preached  a  comforting  dis- 
course, after  which  he  appointed  a  council  to  sit  the 
next  day,  by  which  Sidney  was  tried,  for  having 
lied  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  In  this  council  Joseph 
told  him  he  must  suffer  for  what  he  had  done,  that 
he  should  be  delivered  over  to  the  buffetings  of 
Satan,  who  would  handle  him  as  one  man  handleth 
another,  that  the  less  priesthood  he  had  the  better 
it  would  be  for  him,  and  that  it  would  be  well  for 
him  to  give  up  his  license. 

This  counsel  Sidney  complied  with,  yet  he  had  to 
suffer  for  his  folly,  for,  according  to  his  own  ac- 
count, he  was  dragged  out  of  bed  by  the  Devil,  three 


240  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

times  in  one  night,  by  his  heels.  Whether  this  be 
true  or  not,  one  thing  is  certain,  his  contrition  of 
soui  was  as  great  as  a  man  could  well  live  through. 

After  he  had  sufficiently  humbled  himself,  he  re- 
ceived another  license ;  but  the  old  one  was  retained, 
and  is  now  in  the  hands  of  Bishop  Whitney. 

On  the  2d  of  April,  1832,  Joseph  set  off  for  Mis- 
souri, accompanied  by  Newel  K.  Whitney,  Peter 
Whitmer,  and  Jesse  Gauze.  They  were  taken  by 
Brother  Pitkin  to  the  town  of  Warren  where  they 
were  joined  by  Brother  Rigdon,  and  they  all  pur- 
sued their  journey  together. 

During  her  husband's  absence,  Emma  Smith 
lived  with  William  Gaboon  and  Brother  Williams, 
occasionally  spending  a  short  time  with  us. 

On  the  24th  of  April  Joseph  arrived  at  Independ- 
ence. He  made  haste  to  attend  to  the  business  that 
lay  before  him,  and  on  the  6th  of  May  following,  he, 
with  Brothers  Whitney  and  Rigdon,  left  Independ- 
ence for  Kirtland.  When  they  arrived  at  New 
Albany,  Brother  Whitney  had  the  misfortune  to  get 
his  leg  broken.^  This  detained  Joseph,  who  re- 
mained, in  order  to  take  care  of  him,  four  weeks  at 
Mr.  Porter's  public-house  in  Greenville.  While  they 
were  at  this  placej  Joseph  had  poison  administered 
to  him  in  his  food,  which  operated  very  violently 
upon  his  system,  but  he  soon  recovered,  and  the 
next  morning  they  pursued  their  journey  again,  and 
arrived  in  Kirtland  some  time  in  the  month  of  June. 
When  Joseph  got  home,  he  immediately  procured  a 

'See  Times  and  Seasons,  volume  5,  page  626,  Millennial 
Star,  volume  14,  paere  163. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


241 


house  for  his  wife;  and  after  making  his  family 
comfortable,  he  went  on  a  mission  to  the  East, 
leaving  his  family  in  the  care  of  Hyrum.  Shortly 
after  he  left,  Joseph  Smith  the  third  was  born.- 

After  Joseph  returned  from  his  mission  to  the 
East,  he  established  a  school  for  the  elders,  and 
called  them  all  home  from  the  different  parts  of  the 
country  where  they  had  been  laboring.  This  was 
called  the  School  of  the  Prophets;  and  was  kept  in 
an  upper  room  of  the  house  in  which  Joseph  resided. 

At  this  time  my  sons  were  all  called  home,  and, 
shortly  after  they  arrived,  Joseph  took  all  the  male 
portion  of  our  family  into  the  before-named  school- 
room, and  administered  to  them  the  ordinance  of 
Washing  of  Feet;  after  which  the  Spirit  fell  upon 
them,  ap^  they  spake  in  tongues,  and  prophesied. 
The  brethren  gathered  together  to  witness  the  mani- 
festations of  the  power  of  God.  At  that  time  I  was 
on  the  farm  a  short  distance  from  the  place  where 
the  meeting  was  held,  and  my  children  being  anx- 
ious that  I  should  enjoy  the  meeting,  sent  a  messen- 
ger in  great  haste  for  me.  I  went  without  delay, 
and  shared  with  the  rest,  the  most  glorious  outpour- 
ing of  the  Spirit  of  God  that  had  ever  before  taken 
place  in  the  church.  We  felt  that  we  had  gained 
a  decided  victory  over  the  adversary,  and, 

"We  could  not  believe. 
That  we  ever  should  grieve, 
Or  ever  should  sorrow  again." 

'According:  to  the  account  of  Joseph  Smith  he  returned 
from  this  Eastern  trip  on  the  day  his  son  was  born,  Movem- 
ber  6,  1832,  Times  and  Seasons,  volume  5,  page  67.  Church 
History,  volume  1,  page  259. 


242  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

But,  alas!  our  joy  was  soon  mingled  with  woe.  It 
was  not  two  months  before  a  messenger  arrived 
from  Missouri,  with  tidings  of  the  difficulty  in  Jack- 
son County;  that  Brothers  Partridge  and  Allen  had 
been  tarred  and  feathered,  and  put  into  prison ;  that 
some  had  been  killed,  and  others  shot;  and  among 
the  latter,  was  Brother  Dibble,  who  had  been 
dangerously  wounded. 

Upon  hearing  this,  Joseph  was  overwhelmed  with 
grief.  He  burst  into  tears,  and  sobbed  aloud.  "Oh, 
my  brethren!  my  brethren;"  he  exclaimed,  "would 
that  I  had  been  with  you,  to  have  shared  your  fate. 
Oh,  my  God,  what  shall  I  do  in  such  a  trial  as  this !" 

After  his  grief  had  a  little  subsided,  he  called  a 
council,  and  it  was  resolved  that  the  brethren  from 
the  surrounding  country,  as  well  as  those  in  Kirt- 
land,  should  go  immediately  to  Missouri,  and  take 
with  them  money  and  clothing  to  relieve  the  breth- 
ren in  their  distress.  Just  before  this,  Jesse  Smith, 
my  husband's  nephew,  and  Amos  Fuller,  arrived 
in  Kirtland  from  Potsdam,  and  Jesse  determined 
to  go  with  the  camp  to  Missouri.  He  was  the  son 
of  Jesse  Smith,  my  husband's  oldest  brother,  of 
whose  peculiar  disposition  I  have  spoken  before. 
Knowing  that  his  father  would  censure  us,  I  en- 
deavored to  dissuade  him  from  going;  but  to  no 
purpose,  for  he  was  determined  upon  being  one  of 
the  company.  After  making  the  necessary  collec- 
tions, they  set  out  for  Missouri.  The  whole  com- 
pany amounted  to  two  hundred  in  number. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


243 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

LUCY  SMITH  BUILDS  A  SCHOOLHOUSE — JOSEPH  AND 
HYRUM  RETURN  FROM  MISSOURI — THEY  RE- 
HEARSE THE  HISTORY  OF  THEIR  TROUBLE. 

Previous  to  taking  leave  for  Missouri,  the  brethren 
commenced  building  a  house,  which  was  designed 
for  both  a  meeting-house  and  a  school.  This  was 
left  in  the  hands  of  Brother  Reynolds  Cahoon  for 
completion,  and  was  to  be  in  readiness  for  use  by 
the  commencement  of  the  ensuing  winter.  It  is 
true  we  held  meetings  in  it  during  the  summer,  but 
then  it  only  served  as  a  shelter  from  the  sun.  We 
were  now  unusually  anxious  to  meet  together  as 
often  as  possible,  in  order  to  unite  our  faith  and 
prayers  in  behalf  of  -our  brethren ;  but,  for  a  length 
of  time  after  they  left,  almost  every  meeting  was 
broken  up  by  a  storm.  In  consequence  of  this,  to- 
gether with  the  near  approach  of  winter,  we  began 
to  urge  upon  Brother  Cahoon  the  necessity  of  hurry- 
ing the  building,  but  he  said  that  he  could  do  nothing 
about  the  matter,  as  he  had  neither  time  nor  means. 
This  made  me  very  sorrowful.  I  studied  upon  it 
a  long  time.  Finally,  I  told  my  husband  I  believed 
that  I  could  raise  the  means  myself  to  finish  the 
building,  and,  if  he  would  give  his  consent,  I  would 
try  and  see  what  I  could  do.  He  said  he  would  be 
glad  if  I  could  do  anything  towards  forwarding  the 
the  work,  and  that  I  might  take  any  course  I  saw 
fit,  in  order  to  accomplish  it.    I  then  wrote  a  sub- 


244  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

scription  paper,  in  which  I  agreed  to  refund  all  the 
money  that  should  be  given,  in  case  it  could  not  be 
appropriated  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  should  be 
subscribed.  This  article  I  first  took  to  each  member 
of  my  family  who  were  at  home,  as  also  my  board- 
ers, then  proceeded  with  it  to  Father  Bosley's.  Here 
1  received  considerable  assistance,  and,  as  I  was 
leaving  the  house,  I  met  Brother  Gaboon,  and  in- 
formed him  of  what  I  was  doing.  He  seemed 
pleased,  and  told  me  to  go  on  and  prosper.  And  it 
was  even  so,  I  did  prosper;  so  that  in  two  weeks  I 
had  everything  in  fine  order  for  commencing  the 
woi'k.  I  employed  a  man  by  the  name  of  Bar  to 
make  and  case  the  doors,  and  also  to  case  the  v/in- 
d-ows  and  make  the  sashes.  All  this  was  to  be  done 
at  a  very  reduced  price.  Mr.  Bar  went  immedi- 
ately to  the  house,  and  began  to  take  the  measure- 
ment of  the  windows,  but,  in  consequence  of  some 
misunderstanding.  Brother  Gaboon  forbade  him 
touching  the  work.  Mr.  Bar  came  to  my  husband 
for  an  explanation  of  the  affair.  A  council  was 
called,  and,  after  three  hour's  sitting,  it  was  voted 
that  Mother  Smith  should  go  on,  and  f.nish  the. 
house  as  she  thought  proper.  Accordingly,  I  con- 
tinued to  collect  means  and  employ  hands,  until  the 
house  was  thoroughly  completed,  even  to  the  fasten- 
ings of  the  doors ;  and  when  this  was  accomplished, 
there  was  but  six  dollars  remaining  unpaid.  And 
this  debt  my  husband  afterwards  discharged  by  the 
sale  of  produce. 

Late  in  the  fall  Joseph  and  Hyrum  returned. 
They  wen-  overjoyed  to  meet  us  again  in  health, 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


245 


more  especially  on  account  of  the  perils  which  they 
had  passed  through  during  their  absence.  Joseph 
and  Hyrum  sat  down  beside  me,  each  holding  one 
of  my  hands  in  his,  while  they  related  the  following 
story : 

"When  we  started  on  our  journey  we  made  ar- 
rangements to  have  every  one  made  as  comfortable 
as  possible;  but  the  sufferings  which  are  incident 
to  such  an  excursion  made  some  of  the  brethren  dis- 
contented, and  they  began  to  murmur  against  us, 
saying,  'The  Lord  never  required  them  to  take  such 
a  tiresome  journey,'  and  that  it  was  folly  for  them 
to  suffer  such  fatigue  and  inconvenience  just  to 
gratify  us.  We  warned  them,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  to  stop  their  murmuring;  for,  if  they  did  not, 
the  displeasure  of  the  Almighty  would  be  manifested 
in  judgments  in  their  midst.  But  the  majority  of 
them  paid  no  attention  to  what  we  said,  until  one 
morning  when  they  went  out  to  harness  up  their 
horses,  and  found  them  all  so  lame  as  to  be  unable 
to  travel.  We  told  them  that  this  was  a  curse  which 
had  come  upon  them  because  of  transgression;  but, 
if  they  would  repent,  it  might  be  removed — if  not, 
a  greater  curse  would  come  upon  them.  They 
believed  what  we  said,  and  repented  of  their  folly. 
The  consequence  was,  we  were  soon  on  our  journey 
again.  It  was  not  long,  however,  till  the  spirit  of 
dissension  arose  again,  and  was  not  quelled,  so  as 
to  produce  any  degree  of  good  feeling,  until  we 
arrived  at  Missouri. 

"Soon  after  arriving  at  the  point  of  destination, 
the  cholera  broke  out  in  our  midst;  the  brethren 


246  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

were  so  violently  attacked  that  it  seemed  impossible 
to  render  them  any  assistance.  They  immediately 
sent  for  us  to  lay  hands  on  them,  but  we  soon  dis- 
covered that  this,  also,  was  a  judgment  from  the 
Almighty;  for,  when  we  laid  our  hands  upon 
them,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the  disease  immedi- 
ately fastened  itself  upon  us,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
we  were  in  awful  agony.  We  made  signals  to  each 
other  and  left  the  house,  in  order  to  join  in  prayer 
to  God  that  he  would  deliver  us  from  this  dreadful 
influence ;  but,  before  we  could  get  to  a  sufficient  dis- 
tance from  the  house  to  be  secure  from  interruption, 
we  were  hardly  able  to  stand  upon  our  feet,  and  we 
feared  that  we  should  die  in  that  western  wilderness 
without  the  privilege  of  blessing  our  children,  or 
giving  them  one  word  of  parting  counsel.  We  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  few  steps  further,  and  then  fell 
upon  our  knees  and  cried  unto  the  Lord  that  he 
would  deliver  us  from  this  awful  calamity,  but  we 
arose  worse  than  before.  We  kneeled  down  the  sec- 
ond time,  and  when  we  commenced  praying  the 
cramp  seized  us,  gathering  the  cords  in  our  arms 
and  legs  in  bunches,  and  operating  equally  severe 
throughout  our  system.  We  still  besought  the  Lord, 
with  all  our  strength,  to  have  mercy  upon  us,  but  all 
in  vain.  It  seemed  as  though  the  heavens  were 
sealed  against  us,  and  that  every  power  that  could 
render  us  any  assistance  was  shut  up  within  its 
gates.  We  then  kneeled  down  the  third  time,  con- 
cluding never  to  arise  to  our  feet  again,  until  one  or 
the  other  should  get  a  testimony  that  we  should  be 
healed;  and  that  the  one  who  should  get  the  first 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


247 


intimation  of  the  same  from  the  Spirit,  should  make 
it  known  to  the  others." 

They  stated  further,  that  after  praying  some  time 
the  cramp  began  to  release  its  hold;  and,  in  a  short 
time  Hyrum  sprang  to  his  feet  and  exclaimed, 
"Joseph,  we  shall  return  to  our  families.  I  have  had 
an  open  vision,  in  which  I  saw  mother  kneeling 
under  an  apple-tree;  and  she  is  even  now  asking 
God,  in  tears,  to  spare  our  lives,  that  she  may  again 
behold  us  in  the  flesh.  The  Spirit  testifies,  that  her 
prayers,  united  with  ours,  will  be  answered." 

"0,  my  mother!"  said  Joseph,  "how  often  have 
your  prayers  been  the  means  of  assisting  us  when 
the  shadows  of  death  encompassed  us!" 

William  was  also  taken  sick  of  the  same  disease; 
but  one  of  the  sisters  took  him  to  her  house,  and 
nursed  him  so  faithfully  that  he  soon  recovered. 
Jesse  Smith,  my  nephew,  was  seized  so  violently  that 
nothing  could  be  done  for  him,  and  he  died  immedi- 
ately. Brother  Thayre  was  also  taken  with  the 
cholera;  he  went  to  the  river  and  commenced  dip- 
ping himself,  and  finding  that  it  helped  him,  he 
continued  until  he  was  quite  restored.  His  exam- 
ple was  followed  by  several  others,  and  with  the 
same  effect. 

After  hearing  this  recital,  I  took  Joseph  and 
Hyrum  with  me,  and  showed  them  the  new  meeting- 
house, with  which  they  were  highly  pleased,  and 
they  approved  of  all  that  I  had  done  relative  to  the 
matter. 


248  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

THE    lord's    house    AT    KIRTLAND    COMMENCED — A 
LETTER  FROM  THE  PROPHET  TO  HIS  UNCLE  SILAS. 

The  summer  ensuing  Joseph's  return  from  Mis- 
souri, the  brethren  called  a  council  with  the  view 
of  investigating  the  subject  of  building  a  new  meet- 
ing-house, as  the  first  was  now  too  small  to  accom- 
modate the  increased  congregation.^ 

In  this  council,  Joseph  requested  that  each  of  the 
brethren  should  give  his  views  with  regard  to  the 
house ;  and  when  they  had  all  got  through,  he  would 
then  give  his  opinion  concerning  the  matter.  They 
all  complied  with  his  request.  Some  were  in  favor 
of  building  a  frame  house,  but  the  majority  were 
of  a  mind  to  put  up  another  log  house.  Joseph  re- 
reminded  them  that  they  were  not  building  a  house 
for  man,  but  for  God;  "and  shall  we,  brethren," 
said  he,  "build  a  house  for  our  God,  of  logs?  No, 
I  have  a  better  plan  than  that.  I  have  a  plan  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  given  by  himself;  and  you  will 
soon  see  by  this,  the  difference  between  our  calcula- 
tions and  his  idea  of  things." 

He  then  gave  them  a  full  pattern  of  the  house  of 
the  Lord  at  Kirtland,  with  which  the  brethren  were 
delighted,  particularly  Hyrum,  who  was  much  more 
animated  than  if  it  were  designed  for  himself. 

'Other  accounts  agree  that  the  Kirtland  Temple  was  com- 
menced Drior  to  Zion's  Camp  startine:  to  Missouri.    H.  C.  S. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


249 


After  the  close  of  the  meeting,  Joseph  took  the 
brethren  with  him,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a 
spot  for  the  building  to  stand  upon.  The  place  which 
they  made  choice  of  was  situated  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  a  field  of  wheat,  which  was  sown  by  my 
sons  the  fall  previous,  on  the  farm  upon  which  we 
were  then  living.  In  a  few  minutes  the  fence  was 
removed,  and  the  standing  grain  leveled,  in  order  to 
prepare  a  place  for  the  building,  and  Hyrum  com- 
menced digging  a  trench  for  the  wall,  he  having 
declared  that  he  would  strike  the  first  blow  upon  the 
house. 

This  was  Saturday  night.  On  the  following  Mon- 
day the  brethren  went  to  work  at  the  house  with 
great  ambition;  and  although  but  thirty  families 
now  remained  in  Kirtland,  they  never  suffered  the 
work  to  stop  until  it  was  accomplished.  They  had. 
to  endure  great  fatigue  and  privation,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  opposition  they  met  with  from  their 
enemies,  and  which  was  so  great  that  they  were 
compelled  to  keep  a  guard  upon  the  walls  every 
night  after  they  were  commenced,  until  they  were 
completed.  They  "gave  no  sleep  to  their  eyes,  nor 
slumber  to  their  eyelids,  until  they  found  a  place 
for  the  Lord,  a  habitation  for  the  mighty  God  of 
Jacob." 

Mary  Baily  and  Agnes  Coolbrith  were  then  board- 
ing with  me ;  they  devoted  their  whole  time  to  mak- 
ing and  mending  clothes  for  the  men  who  were 
employed  on  the  house.  There  was  but  one  main- 
spring to  all  our  thoughts  and  actions,  and  that  was, 
the  building  of  the  Lord's  house. 


250  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

I  often  wonder,  when  I  hear  brethren  and  sisters 
complain  at  the  trifling  inconveniences  which  they 
have  to  suffer  in  these  days,  and  I  think  to  myself 
that  salvation  is  worth  as  much  now  as  it  was  in 
the  commencement  of  the  work.  But  "all  like  the 
purchase,  few  the  price  would  pay."  How  often  I 
have  parted  every  bed  in  the  house  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  brethren,  and  then  laid  a  single 
blanket  on  the  floor  for  my  husband  and  myself, 
while  Joseph  and  Emma  slept  on  the  same  floor, 
with  nothing  but  their  cloaks  for  both  bed  and  bed- 
ding. 

At  this  time,  John  Smith,  my  husband's  brother, 
was  lying  very  low  with  the  consumption,  and, 
although  he  was  unable  to  stand  upon  his  feet  with- 
out assistance,  he  resolved  upon  being  baptized, 
which  was  accordingly  done,  and  he  was  immediately 
healed.  In  a  short  time  he  moved  his  family  to 
Kirtland,  where  he  settled  himself  with  the  church. 
Not  long  after  Brother  John  arrived,  my  oldest 
daughter,  Sophronia  Stoddard,  was  taken  sick.  Her 
symptoms  soon  became  so  alarming  that  her  hus-  * 
band  sent  for  a  physician,  who  after  attending  upon 
her  for  some  time,  pronounced  her  beyond  the  reach 
of  medicine,  and  therefore  discontinued  his  visits. 
As  she  did  not  speak,  nor  turn  herself  in  bed,  many 
supposed  that  she  was  dying.  When  she  was  in 
this  situation,  Jared  Carter,  together  with  my  hus- 
band and  our  sons,  administered  to  her  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  and  in  half  an  hour  she  spoke  to  me 
saying,  "Mother,  I  shall  get  well — not  suddenly,  but 
the  Lord  will  heal  me  gradually."    The  same  day 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


251 


she  sat  up  half  an  hour,  and  in  three  days  she  walked 
across  the  street. 

We  were  still  living  on  the  farm,  and  laboring 
with  our  might  to  make  the  droves  of  company, 
which  were  constantly  coming  in,  as  comfortable  as 
possible.  Joseph  saw  how  we  were  situated,  and 
that  it  would  not  answer  for  us  to  keep  a  public 
house,  at  free  cost,  any  longer;  and,  by  his  request, 
we  moved  into  an  upper  room  of  his  own  house, 
where  we  lived  very  comfortably  for  a  season. 
About  this  time  Joseph  vs^rote  a  letter  to  his  Uncle 
Silas,  which  I  think  would  be  interesting  to  my 
readers,  and  shall  therefore  give  it  insertion  in  this 
place : 

"KiRTLAND  Mills,  Ohio,  Sept.  26,  1833. 

"Respected  Uncle  Silas:  It  is  with  feelings  of 
deep  interest  for  the  welfare  of  mankind,  which  fill 
my  mind  on  the  reflection  that  all  were  formed  by 
the  hand  of  Him  who  will  call  the  same  to  give  an 
impartial  account  of  all  their  works  on  that  great 
day  to  which  you  and  myself,  in  common  with  them, 
are  bound,  that  I  take  up  my  pen  and  seat  myself 
in  an  attitude  to  address  a  few,  though  imperfect, 
lines  to  you  for  your  perusal. 

"I  have  no  doubt  but  that  you  will  agree  with  me, 
that  men  will  be  held  accountable  for  the  things 
they  have  done,  and  not  for  the  things  they  have  not 
done.  Or  that  all  the  light  and  intelligence  com- 
municated to  them  from  their  beneficent  Creator, 
whether  it  is  much  or  little,  by  the  same  they,  in 
justice,  will  be  judged.  And  that  they  are  required 
to  yield  obedience,  and  improve  upon  that,  and  that 


252  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

only,  which  is  given,  for  man  is  not  to  live  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceeds  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord. 

"Seeing  that  the  Lord  has  never  given  the  world 
to  understand,  by  anything  heretofore  revealed,  that 
he  had  ceased  for  ever  to  speak  to  his  creatures, 
when  sought  unto  in  a  proper  manner,  why  should 
it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible,  that  he  should  be 
pleased  to  speak  again  in  these  last  days  for  their 
salvation?  Perhaps  j^ou  may  be  surprised  at  this 
assertion,  that  I  should  say  for  the  salvation  of  his 
creatures  in  these  last  days,  since  we  have  already 
in  our  possession  a  vast  volume  of  his  word,  which 
he  has  previously  given.  But  you  will  admit  that 
the  word  spoken  to  Noah  was  not  sufficient  for 
Abraham,  or  it  was  not  required  of  Abraham  to 
leave  the  land  of  his  nativity,  and  seek  an  inherit- 
ance in  a  strange  country  upon  the  word  spoken  to 
Noah,  but,  for  himself  he  obtained  promise  at  the 
hand  of  the  Lord,  and  walked  in  that  perfection, 
that  he  was  called  the  friend  of  God.  Isaac,  the 
promised  seed,  was  not  required  to  rest  his  hope 
alone  upon  the  promises  made  to  his  father  Abra- 
ham, but  was  privileged  with  the  assurance  of  his 
approbation,  in  the  sight  of  heaven,  by  the  direct 
voice  of  the  Lord  to  him.  If  one  man  can  live  upon 
the  revelations  given  to  another,  might  I  not  with 
propriety  ask,  why  the  necessity,  then,  of  the  Lord's 
speaking  to  Isaac  as  he  did,  as  is  recorded  in  the 
twenty-sixth  chapter  of  Genesis?  For  the  Lord  there 
repeats,  or  rather,  promises  again  to  perform  the 
oath  which  he  had  previously  sworn  to  Abraham; 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS  253 


and  why  this  repetition  to  Isaac?  Why  was  not  the 
first  promise  as  sure  for  Isaac  as  it  was  for  Abra- 
ham? Was  not  Isaac  Abraham's  son?  And  could 
he  not  place  implicit  confidence  in  the  veracity  of 
his  father  as  being  a  man  of  God?  Perhaps  you 
may  say  that  he  was  a  very  peculiar  man,  and  dif- 
ferent from  men  in  these  last  days,  consequently, 
the  Lord  favored  him  with  blessings,  peculiar  and 
different,  as  he  was  different  from  men  in  this  age. 
I  admit  that  he  was  a  peculiar  man,  and  was  not 
only  peculiarly  blessed,  but  greatly  blessed.  But  all 
the  peculiarity  that  I  can  discover  in  the  man,  or 
all  the  difference  between  him  and  men  in  this  age, 
is,  that  he  was  more  holy  and  more  perfect  before 
God,  and  came  to  him  with  a  purer  heart,  and  more 
faith  than  men  in  this  day. 

"The  same  might  be  said  on  the  subject  of  Jacob's 
history.  Why  was  it  that  the  Lord  spake  to  him 
concerning  the  same  promise,  after  he  had  made  it 
once  to  Abraham,  and  renewed  it  to  Isaac?  Why 
could  not  Jacob  rest  contented  upon  the  word  spoken 
to  his  fathers?  When  the  time  of  the  promise  drew 
nigh  for  the  deliverance  of  the  children  of  Israel 
from  the  land  of  Egypt,  why  was  it  necessary  that 
the  Lord  should  begin  to  speak  to  them?  The  prom- 
ise or  word  to  Abraham,  was,  that  his  seed  should 
serve  in  bondage,  and  be  afflicted,  four  hundred 
years,  and  after  that  they  should  come  out  with 
great  substance.  Why  did  they  not  rely  upon  this 
promise,  and  when  they  had  remained  in  Egypt,  in 
bondage,  four  hundred  years,  come  out,  without 
waiting  for  further  revelations,  but  act  entirely 


254  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

upon  the  promise  given  to  Abraham,  that  they 
should  come  out? 

"Paul  said  to  his  Hebrew  brethren,  that  God 
might  more  abundantly  show  unto  the  heirs  of 
promise  the  immutability  of  his  counsel,  he  con- 
firmed it  by  an  oath.  He  also  exhorts  them,  who, 
through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the  promises. 

"Notwithstanding,  we  (said  Paul)  have  fled  for 
refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  us,  which 
hope  we  have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure 
and  steadfast,  and  which  entereth  into  that  within 
the  veil,  yet  he  was  careful  to  press  upon  them  the 
necessity  of  continuing  on  until  they,  as  well  as 
those  who  then  inherited  the  promises,  might  have 
the  assurance  of  their  salvation  confirmed  to  them 
by  an  oath  from  the  mouth  of  him  who  could  not  lie ; 
for  that  seemed  to  be  the  example  anciently,  and 
Paul  holds  it  out  to  his  Hebrew  brethren  as  an 
object  attainable  in  his  day.  And  why  not?  I  admit, 
that  by  reading  the  Scriptures  of  truth,  the  saints, 
in  the  days  of  Paul,  could  learn,  beyond  the  power 
of  contradiction,  that  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
had  the  promise  of  eternal  life  confirmed  to  them  by 
an  oath  of  the  Lord,  but  that  promise  or  oath  was 
no  assurance  to  them  of  their  salvation;  but  they 
could,  by  walking  in  the  footsteps,  continuing  in  the 
faith  of  their  fathers,  obtain  for  themselves  an  oath 
for  confirmation  that  they  were  meet  to  be  partak- 
ers of  the  inheritance  with  the  saints  in  light. 

"If  the  saints,  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  were 
privileged  to  take  the  saints  for  example,  and  lay 
hold  of  the  same  promises,  and  attain  to  the  same 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


255 


exalted  privileges  of  knowing  that  their  names  were 
written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life,  and  that  they 
were  sealed  there  as  a  perpetual  memorial  before 
the  face  of  the  Most  High,  will  not  the  same  faith- 
fulness, the  same  purity  of  heart,  and  the  same  faith, 
bring  the  same  assurance  of  eternal  life,  and  that 
in  the  same  manner  to  the  children  of  men  now,  in 
this  age  of  the  world  ?  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the 
holy  prophets,  and  apostles,  and  saints  in  ancient 
days  were  saved  in  the  kingdom  of  God;  neither  do 
I  doubt  but  that  they  held  converse  and  communion 
with  him  while  they  were  in  the  flesh,  as  Paul  said 
to  his  Corinthian  brethren,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
showed  himself  to  above  five  hundred  saints  at  one 
time  after  his  resurrection.  Job  said  that  he  knew 
that  his  Redeemer  lived,  and  that  he  should  see  him 
in  the  flesh  in  the  latter  days,  I  may  believe  that 
Enoch  walked  with  God,  and  by  faith  was  trans- 
lated. I  may  believe  that  Noah  was  a  perfect  man 
in  his  generation,  and  also  walked  with  God.  I  may 
believe  that  Abraham  communed  with  God,  and  con- 
versed with  angels.  I  may  believe  that  Isaac  ob- 
tained a  renewal  of  the  covenant  made  to  Abraham 
by  the  direct  voice  of  the  Lord.  I  may  believe  that 
Jacob  conversed  with  holy  angels,  and  heard  the 
word  of  his  Maker,  that  he  wrestled  with  the  angel 
until  he  prevailed,  and  obtained  a  blessing.  I  may 
believe  that  Elijah  was  taken  to  heaven  in  a  chariot 
of  fire  with  fiery  horses.  I  may  believe  that  the 
saints  saw  the  Lord,  and  conversed  with  him  face 
to  face  after  his  resurrection.  I  may  believe  that 
the  Hebrew  church  came  to  Mount  Zion,  and  unto 


256  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels.  I  may 
believe  that  they  looked  into  eternity,  and  saw  the 
Judge  of  all,  and  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the  New 
Covenant.  But  will  all  this  purchase  an  assurance 
for  me,  and  waft  me  to  the  regions  of  eternal  day, 
with  my  garments  spotless,  pure,  and  white?  Or, 
must  I  not  rather  obtain  for  myself,  by  my  own  faith 
and  diligence  in  keeping  the  commandments  of  the 
Lord,  an  assurance  of  salvation  for  myself?  And 
have  I  not  an  equal  privilege  with  the  ancient  saints? 
And  will  not  the  Dord  hear  my  prayers,  and  listen 
to  my  cries  as  soon  as  he  ever  did  to  theirs,  if  I 
come  to  him  in  the  manner  they  did?  Or,  is  he  a 
respecter  of  persons? 

"I  must  now  close  this  subject  for  the  want  of 
time;  and,  I  may  say,  with  propriety,  at  the  begin- 
ning. We  would  be  pleased  to  see  you  in  Kirtland; 
and  more  pleased  to  have  you  embrace  the  New 
Covenant.  "I  remain,  yours  affectionately, 

"Joseph  Smith,  Jr." 

Previous  to  the  time  of  our  going  to  live  with 
Joseph,  my  attention  had  been  chiefly  taken  up  with 
business;  I  now  concluded  to  devote  the  most  of  my 
time  to  the  study  of  the  Bible,  Book  of  Mormon, 
and  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  but  a  circumstance 
occurred  which  deprived  me  of  the  privilege.  One 
day  upon  going  down-stairs  to  dinner,  I  incautiously 
set  my  foot  upon  a  round  stick,  that  lay  near  the 
top  of  the  stairs.  This,  rolling  under  my  foot, 
pitched  me  forward  down  the  steps;  my  head  was 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


257 


severely  bruised  in  falling;  however,  I  said  but  lit- 
tle about  it,  thinking  I  should  be  better  soon. 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  with  my  husband  to  a 
blessing-j-neeting ;  I  took  cold,  and  an  inflammati-on 
settled  in  my  eyes,  which  increased  until  I  became 
entirely  blind.  The  distress  which  I  suffered  for  a 
few  days  surpasses  all  description.  Every  effort 
was  made  by  my  friends  to  relieve  me,  but  all  in 
vain.  I  called  upon  the  elders,  and  requested  them 
to  pray  to  the  Lord  that  I  might  be  able  to  see,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  read  without  even  wearing  specta- 
cles. They  did  so,  and  when  they  took  their  hands 
off  my  head,  I  read  two  lines  in  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon; and  although  I  am  now  seventy  years  old,  I 
have  never  worn  glasses  since.- 


*Lucy  Smith  was  born  in  1776,  hence  this  must  have  been 
written  about  1846.  H.  C.  S 


258  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  LORD  COMPLETED — A  DIVISION  IN 
THE  CHURCH. 

The  house  of  the  Lord  went  steadily  forward, 
until  it  was  completed,  notwithstanding  the  threats 
of  the  mob.  When  this  work  was  accomplished, 
there  was  much  rejoicing  in  the  church,  and  great 
blessings  were  poured  out  upon  the  elders;  but  as 
I  was  not  present  at  the  endowment,  I  shall  say  but 
little  about  it. 

Shortly  after  the  completion  of  the  house,  Joseph 
and  Martin  Harris  took  a  short  tour  through  the 
eastern  country.  When  they  arrived  at  Palmyra, 
on  their  return,  Joseph  had  a  vision,  which  lasted 
until  he  besought  the  Lord  to  take  it  from  him; 
for  it  manifested  to  him  things  which  were  painful 
to  contemplate.  It  was  taken  from  before  his  eyes 
for  a  short  time,  but  soon  returned  again,  and 
remained  until  the  whole  scene  was  portrayed  before 
him. 

On  his  arrival  at  home,  the  brethren  seemed 
greatly  pleased  to  see  him.  The  next  day  he 
preached  a  sermon,  and  the  following  is  a  part  of 
his  remarks: 

"Brethren,  I  am  rejoiced  to  see  you,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  but  that  you  are  glad  to  see  me.  We  are 
now  nearly  as  happy  as  we  can  be  on  earth.  We 
have  accomplished  more  than  we  had  any  reason  to 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


259 


expect  when  we  began.  Our  beautiful  bouse  is  fin- 
ished, and  the  Lord  has  acknowledged  it,  by  pouring 
out  his  Spirit  upon  us  here,  and  revealing  to  us 
much  of  his  will  in  regard  to  the  work  which  he  is 
about  to  perform.  Furthermore,  we  have  every- 
thing that  is  necessary  to  our  comfort  and  conven- 
ience, and,  judging  from  appearances,  one  would  not 
suppose  that  anything  could  occur  which  would 
break  up  our  friendship  for  each  other,  or  disturb 
our  tranquility.  But  brethren,  beware;  for  I  tell 
you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  that  there  is  an  evil 
in  this  very  congregation,  which,  if  not  repented  of, 
will  result  in  setting  one  third  of  you,  who  are  here 
this  day,  so  much  at  enmity  against  me,  that  you  will 
have  a  desire  to  take  my  life;  and  you  even  would 
do  it,  if  God  should  permit  the  deed.  But  brethren, 
I  now  call  upon  you  to  repent,  and  cease  all  your 
nardness  of  heart,  and  turn  from  those  principles 
of  death  and  dishonesty  which  you  are  harboring 
in  your  bosoms,  before  it  is  eternally  too  late,  for 
there  is  yet  room  for  repentance." 

He  continued  to  labor  with  them  in  this  way, 
appealing  to  them  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  until 
almost  every  one  in  the  house  was  in  tears,  and  he 
was  exhausted  with  speaking. 

The  following  week  was  spent  in  surmises  and 
speculations,  as  to  who  would  be  the  traitors,  and 
why  they  should  be  so,  etc.,  etc. 

Prior  to  this  a  bank  was  established  in  Kirtland. 
Soon  after  the  sermon,  above  mentioned,  Joseph 
discovered  that  a  large  amount  of  money  had  been 
taken  away  by  fraud,  from  this  bank.    He  immedi- 


260  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

ately  demanded  a  search  warrant  of  Esquire  Wil- 
liams, which  was  flatly  refused.  "I  insist  upon  a 
warrant,"  said  Joseph,  "for  if  you  will  give  me  one, 
I  can  get  the  money,  and  if  you  do  not,  I  will  break 
you  of  your  office."  "Well,  break  it  is,  then,"  said 
Williams,  "and  we  will  strike  hands  upon  it."  "Very 
well,"  said  Joseph,  "from  henceforth  I  drop  you 
from  my  quorum,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Williams,  in  wrath,  replied  "Amen."  Joseph 
entered  a  complaint  against  him,  for  neglect  of  duty, 
as  an  officer  of  justice;  in  consequence  of  which  the 
magistracy  was  taken  from  him,  and  given  to  Oliver 
Cowdery. 

Joseph  then  went  to  Cleveland,  in  order  to  trans- 
act some  business  pertaining  to  the  bank;  and  as 
he  was  absent  the  ensuing  Sunday,  my  husband 
preached  to  the  people.  In  speaking  of  the  bank 
affair,  he  reflected  somewhat  sharply  upon  Warren 
Parrish.  Although  the  reflection  was  just,  Parrish 
was  highly  incensed,  and  made  an  attempt  to  drag 
him  out  of  the  stand.  My  husband  appealed  to 
Oliver  Cowdery,  who  was  justice  of  the  peace,  to 
have  him  brought  to  order;  but  Oliver  never  moved 
from  his  seat.  William,  seeing  the  abuse  which  his 
father  was  receiving,  sprang  forward  and  caught 
Parrish,  and  carried  him  in  his  arms  nearly  out  of 
the  house.  At  this  John  Boynton  stepped  forward, 
and  drawing  a  sword  from  his  cane,  presented  it  to 
William's  breast,  and  said,  "If  you  advance  one  step 
further,  I  will  run  you  through."  Before  William 
had  time  to  turn  himself,  several  gathered  around 
him,  threatening  to  handle  him  severely,  if  he  should 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


261 


lay  the  weight  of  his  finger  upon  Parrish  again.  At 
this  juncture  of  affairs,  I  left  the  house,  not  only 
terrified  at  the  scene,  but  lilcewise  sick  at  heart  to 
see  that  the  apostasy  of  which  Joseph  had  prophc 
sied  was  so  near  at  hand. 

At  this  time  a  certain  young  woman,  who  was 
living  at  David  Whitmer's,  uttered  a  prophecy, 
which  she  said  was  given  her  by  looking  through 
a  black  stone  that  she  had  found.  This  prophecy 
gave  some  altogether  a  new  idea  of  things.  She 
said  the  reason  why  one  third  of  the  church  would 
turn  away  from  Joseph,  was  because  that  he  was 
in  transgression  himself;  that  he  would  fall  from 
his  office  on  account  of  the  same;  that  David  Whit- 
mer,  or  Martin  Harris  would  fill  Joseph's  place ;  and 
that  the  one  who  did  not  succeed  him,  would  be  the 
counselor  to  the  one  that  did. 

This  girl  soon  became  an  object  of  great  atten- 
tion among  those  who  were  disaffected.  Doctor 
Williams,  the  ex-justice  of  the  peace,  became  her 
scribe,  and  wrote  her  revelations  for  her.  Jared 
Carter,  who  lived  in  the  same  house  with  David 
Whitmer,  soon  imbibed  the  same  spirit,  and  I  was 
informed  that  he  said  in  one  of  their  meetings,  that 
he  had  power  to  raise  "Joe  Smith"  to  the  highest 
heavens,  or  sink  him  to  the  lowest  hell. 

Shortly  after  this,  Jared  came  to  our  house,  and 
I  questioned  him  relative  to  what  he  had  said  con- 
cerning Joseph.  Not  having  mentioned  the  matter 
to  my  husband,  he  did  not  understand  what  I  meant 
at  first;  but  after  a  little  explanation,  he  warned 
Jared  to  repent  of  the  injudicious  course  that  he  was 


262  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

taking,  and  speedily  confess  his  sins  to  the  church, 
or  the  judgments  of  God  would  overtake  him.  Jared 
received  this  admonition,  and  acknowledging  his 
fault,  agreed  to  confess  to  the  brethren  the  first 
opportunity.  The  next  morning  he  was  seized  with 
a  violent  pain  in  his  eyes,  and  continued  in  great 
distress  for  two  days.  On  the  evening  of  the  second 
day,  he  arose  from  his  bed,  and,  kneeling  down, 
besought  the  Lord  to  heal  him,  covenanting  to  make 
a  full  confession  to  the  church  at  meeting  the  next 
Sunday. 

Accordingly,  the  next  Sabbath  he  arose  and  stated 
to  the  brethren  that  he  had  done  wrong;  and,  ask- 
ing their  forgiveness,  begged  to  be  received  again 
into  their  confidence.  He  did  not,  however,  state 
what  he  had  done  that  was  wrong;  nevertheless  his 
confession  was  received,  and  he  was  forgiven.  But 
the  rest  of  his  party  continued  obstinate.  They  still 
held  their  secret  meetings  at  David  Whitmer's,  and 
when  the  young  woman,  who  was  their  instructress, 
was  through  giving  what  revelations  she  intended 
lor  the  evening,  she  would  jump  out  of  her  chair 
and  dance  over  the  floor,  boasting  of  her  power, 
until  she  was  perfectly  exhausted.  Her  proselytes 
would  also,  in  the  most  vehement  manner,  proclaim 
their  purity  and  holiness,  and  the  mighty  power 
which  they  were  going  to  have. 

They  made  a  standing  appointment  for  meetings 
to  be  held  every  Thursday,  by  the  pure  church  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord.  They  also  circulated  a  paper, 
in  order  to  ascertain  how  many  would  follow  them, 
and  it  was  found  that  a  great  proportion  of  the 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


263 


church  were  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  new  party. 
In  this  spirit  they  went  to  Missouri,  and  contami- 
nated the  minds  of  many  of  the  brethren  against 
Joseph,  in  order  to  destroy  his  influence.  This  made 
it  more  necessary  than  ever  to  keep  a  strict  guard 
at  the  houses  of  those  who  were  the  chief  objects  of 
their  vengeance.* 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR,  AND  HIS  BROTHER  JOHN,  GO 
QN  A  MISSION  TO  THE  EAST — THE  DEATH  OF 
JERUSHA  SMITH. 

In  the  year  1836  my  husband  and  his  brother 
John  were  sent  on  a  short  mission  to  New  Portage. 
While  there  they  administered  patriarchal  blessings 
and  baptized  sixteen  persons. 

Soon  after  they  left  for  New  Portage,  their  aged 
mother  arrived  in  Kirtland  from  New  York,  after 
traveling  the  distance  of  five  hundred  miles.  We 
sent  immediately  for  my  husband  and  his  brother, 

'The  Kirtland  Bank  affair  was  an  unfortunate  one,  and 
has  been  made  the  occasion  of  strong  objection  to  the  claims 
of  the  church.  There  is,  however,  reason  to  believe  that  the 
failure  was  due  more  to  mismanagement  than  to  dishonesty. 
Bro.  William  Marks.  Sr..  is  credited  with  stating  that  he 
made  some  advances  of  money,  and  put  forth  some  efforts 
to  have  the  matter  properly  settled;  but  that  a  large  number 
of  the  bills  were  put  afloat  without  the  sanction  of  the  direct- 
ors, by  an  individual,  and  this  rendered  such  effort  useless. 
He  lost  considerable  means  in  the  attempt,  and  did  not  avert 
the  disaster  that  occurred  subsequently. 


264  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

who  returned  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  found  the 
old  lady  in  g-ood  health  and  excellent  spirits.  She 
rejoiced  to  meet  so  many  of  her  children,  grandchil- 
dren, and  great-grandchildren,  whom  she  expected 
never  to  see. 

In  two  days  after  her  sons,  John  and  Joseph, 
arrived,  she  was  taken  sick,  and  survived  but  one 
week,  at  the  end  of  which  she  died,  firm  in  the  faith 
of  the  gospel,  although  she  had  never  yielded  obedi- 
ence to  any  of  its  ordinances.  Her  age  was  ninety- 
three  years. 

In  a  short  time  after  her  death  my  husband  and 
his  brother  John  took  a  journey  to  visit  all  the 
churches,  and  i.ii  following  is  a  sketch  from  the 
journal  of  John  Smith,  of  this  tour: 

"As  we  traveled  through  New  Hampshire,  we 
visited  Daniel  Mack,  who  was  Joseph's  brother-in- 
law.  He  treated  us  very  kindly,  but  was  unwilling 
to  hear  the  gospel.  We  traveled  thence  up  the  Con- 
necticut River  to  Grafton.  Here  we  found  an  own 
sister,  whom  we  had  not  seen  for  twenty  years.  Her 
prejudice  had  become  so  strong  against  'Mormon- 
ism,'  that  she  was  unwilling  to  treat  us  even 
decently.  From  this  place  we  went  to  Vermont, 
through  Windsor  and  Orange  Counties,  and  found 
many  of  our  relatives,  who  treated  us  kindly,  but 
would  not  receive  the  gospel.  We  next  ci'ossed  the 
Green  Mountains  to  Middlebury.  Here  we  found 
our  oldest  sister,  who  was  very  much  pleased  to  see 
us,  and  received  our  testimony.  We  stayed  with  her 
over  night,  and  the  next  day  set  out  for  St.  Law- 
rence County,  New  York,  where  we  had  one  brother 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


265 


and  a  sister.  Having  arrived  at  this  brother's  (who 
was  Jesse  Smith),  we  spent  one  day  with  him.  He 
treated  us  very  ill.  Leaving  him,  we  went  to  see 
our  sister  Susan.  I  had  business  about  ten  miles 
on  one  side,  and  during  my  absence  Jesse  pursued 
Joseph  to  Potsdam,  with  a  warrant,  on  a  pretended 
debt  of  twelve  dollars,  and  took  him  back  to  Stock- 
holm. Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  abused  him  most 
shamefully,  in  the  presence  of  strangers;  and  he 
exacted  fifty  dollars  of  him,  which  Joseph  borrowed 
of  Brother  Silas,  who  happened  to  be  there  just  at 
that  time  from  Kirtland,  and  paid  Jesse  this  sum, 
in  order  to  save  further  trouble. 

"The  meekness  manifested  by  Brother  Joseph 
upon  this  occasion,  won  upon  the  feelings  of  many, 
who  said  that  Jesse  had  disgraced  himself  so  much 
that  he  would  never  be  able  to  redeem  his  character. 

"From  Potsdam  we  went  to  Ogdensburg,  when  to 
our  joy  we  found  Heber  C.  Kimball,  who  had  raised 
up  a  small  branch  in  that  place.  These  were  the 
first  Latter  Day  Saints  we  had  seen  in  traveling 
three  hundred  miles.  On  the  10th  of  October  we 
returned  home." 

About  one  year  after  my  husband  returned  from 
this  mission  a  calamity  happened  to  our  family  that 
wrung  our  hearts  with  more  than  common  grief. 
Jerusha,  Hyrum's  wife,  was  taken  sick,  and,  after  an 
illness  of  perhaps  two  weeks,  died  while  her  hus- 
band was  absent  on  a  mission  to  Missouri.  She  was 
a  woman  whom  everybody  loved  that  was  acquainted 
with  her,  for  she  was  every  way  worthy.  The 
family  were  so  warmly  attached  to  her  that,  had 


266  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


she  been  our  own  sister,  they  could  not  have  been 
more  afflicted  by  her  death. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

THE  PERSECUTION  REVIVES — DON  CARLOS  AND  HIS 
FATHER  FLY  FROM  THEIR  ENEMIES — JOSEPH 
MOVES  TO  MISSOURI. 

Soon  after  the  division  that  took  place  in  the 
church,  our  enemies  without  began  again  to  trouble 
us.  Having  seen  our  prosperity  in  everything  to 
which  we  had  set  our  hands  previous  to  this,  they 
became  discouraged,  and  ceased  their  operations; 
but,  suddenly  discovering  that  there  was  a  division 
in  our  midst,  their  fruitful  imaginations  were 
aroused  to  the  utmost,  to  invent  new  schemes  to 
accomplish  our  destruction. 

Their  first  movement  was  to  sue  Joseph  for  debt, 
and,  with  this  pretense,  seize  upon  every  piece  of 
property  belonging  to  any  of  the  family.  Joseph 
then  had  in  his  possession  four  Egyptian  mummies, 
with  some  ancient  records  that  accompanied  them. 
These  the  mob  swore  they  would  take  from  the 
meeting-house,  and  then  burn  every  one  of  them. 
Accordingly,  they  levied  an  execution  upon  them  for 
an  unjust  debt  of  fifty  dollars;  but,  by  various 
stratagems,  we  succeeded  in  keeping  them  out  of 
their  hands. 

The  persecution  finally  became  so  violent  that 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


267 


Joseph  regarded  it  as  unsafe  to  remain  any  longer 
in  Kirtland,  and  began  to  make  arrangements  to 
move  to  Missouri.  One  evening,  before  finishing 
his  preparations  for  the  contemplated  journey,  he 
sat  in  council  with  the  brethren  at  our  house.  After 
giving  them  directions  as  to  what  he  desired  them 
to  do,  while  he  was  absent  from  them,  and,  as  he 
was  about  leaving  the  room,  he  said,  "Well,  breth- 
ren, I  do  not  recollect  anything  more,  but  one  thing, 
brethren,  is  certain,  I  shall  see  you  again,  let  what 
will  happen,  for  I  have  a  promise  of  life  five  years, 
and  they  can  not  kill  me  until  that  time  is  expired." 

That  night  he  was  warned  by  the  Spirit  to  make 
his  escape,  wit}'  his  family,  as  speedily  as  possible; 
he  therefore  arose  from  his  bed,  and  took  his  family, 
with  barely  beds  and  clothing  sufficient  for  them, 
and  left  Kirtland  in  the  dead  hour  of  the  night.  The 
day  following,  the  constable,  Luke  Johnson,  an  apos- 
tate, served  a  summons  upon  my  husband,  telling 
him  that  no  harm  was  intended,  and  desired  him 
to  go  immediately  to  the  office. 

I  begged  Johnson  not  to  drag  my  husband  away 
among  our  enemies,  for  I  knew,  by  sad  experience, 
tne  direful  consequences  of  these  civil  suits.  John- 
son paid  no  attention  to  what  I  said,  but  hurried  my 
husband  away  to  the  office.  He  was  taken  for  mar- 
rying a  couple;  and  as  Esquire  Cowdery,  and  the 
mob,  did  not  consider  that  he  was  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  they  disputed  his  having  the  right  to  perform 
this  ceremony,  and  so  fined  him  the  sum  of  three 
thousand  dollars,  and,  in  case  he  should  fail  to  pay 
this  amount  forthwith,  he  'was  sentenced  to  go  to  the 


268  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

penitentiary.  Luke  Johnson  bustled  about,  pre- 
tending to  be  very  much  engaged  in  prepar- 
ing to  draw  writings  for  the  money,  and  making 
other  arrangements,  such  as  were  required  of  him 
by  the  party  to  which  he  belonged.  The  first  oppor- 
tunity that  offered  itself,  he  went  to  Hyrum,  and 
told  him  to  take  his  father  into  a  room,  which  he 
pointed  out  to  him,  and,  said  Johnson,  "I  will  man- 
age to  get  the  window  out,  which  will  set  him  at 
liberty  to  jump  out,  and  go  where  he  pleases."  Mr. 
Smith  and  Hyrum,  who  had  been  together  all  the 
time,  then  retired  from  the  company,  who  were  kept 
from  following  them  by  Luke  Johnson,  who  told  the 
mob  that  the  prisoner  had  gone  to  consult  about 
raising  the  money.  In  this  way  they  were  stilled, 
until  Mr.  Smith,  by  the  help  of  Hyrum  and  John 
Boynton,  escaped  from  the  window. 

My  husband,  after  traveling  about  four  miles, 
stopped  with  Brother  Snow,  who  was  father  to  Eliza 
Snow,  the  poetess.  The  old  man  told  Mr.  Smith 
that  he  would  secrete  him,  and  calling  his  family 
together,  he  forbade  them  telling  any  one  of  his 
being  there. 

When  Johnson  supposed  that  my  husband  was  out 
of  their  reach,  he  started  up  and  ran  into  the  room 
where  he  had  left  him,  saying  that  he  must  see  after 
the  prisoner,  and  finding  the  room  empty,  he  made 
a  great  outcry,  and  ran,  hunting  in  every  direction 
for  the  fugitive.  He  came  to  me  and  inquired  if 
Mr.  Smith  had  returned  home.  This  frightened  me 
very  much,  and  I  exclaimed,  "Luke,  you  have  killed 
my  husband."    He  denied  it,  but  gave  no  further 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


269 


explanation.  In  a  short  time  I  found  out  where  he 
was,  and  sent  him  both  money  and  clothes  to  travel 
with,  so  that  in  a  few  days,  he  started  with  Don 
Carlos  and  Brother  Wilber.  By  this  time,  hand- 
bills were  stuck  up,  on  every  public,  as  well  as  pri- 
vate road,  offering  a  reward  for  him,  and  describ- 
ing his  person,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  prevent  his 
escape.  Runners  were  also  sent  throughout  the 
country  to  watch  for  him,  with  authority  to  bring 
him  back,  in  case  he  should  be  found;  but,  in  spite 
of  all  their  diligence,  he  succeeded  in  making  his 
escape,  and  getting  to  New  Portage,  where  he 
stopped  with  Brother  Taylor.  Don  Carlos,  having 
accompanied  his  father  to  the  above-named  place, 
returned  home  again  to  his  family ;  but,  immediately 
discovering  that  the  mob  contemplated  taking  him 
for  the  same  offense,  he  moved  with  his  family  to 
New  Portage,  and  was  there  with  his  father  until 
the  rest  of  the  family  were  ready  to  remove  to  Mis- 
souri. Hyrum  had  already  moved  there  with  his 
family. 

Shortly  after  they  left,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Edward  Woolley  came  to  Kirtland  to  see  Mr.  Smith ; 
not  finding  him  there,  he  went  to  New  Portage,  and 
persuaded  my  husband  to  accompany  him  home. 

After  Mr.  Smith  had  been  at  this  gentleman's 
residence  about  two  weeks,  we  became  very  uneasy 
about  him,  and,  as  we  did  not  know  at  that  time 
whither  he  had  gone,  William  set  out  in  pursuit  of 
him,  in  order  to  learn,  if  possible,  whether  he  had 
met  with  friends,  and  was  well  provided  for,  or  had 
fallen  into  hands  of  his  enemies,  and  been  murdered. 


270  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

for  we  had  as  much  reason  to  apprehend  the  latter 
calamity,  as  to  hope  for  the  former  good  fortune. 

It  was  some  time  after  William  arrived  at  New 
Portage  before  he  could  ascertain  where  my  hus- 
band had  gone.  But  as  soon  as  he  did  receive  the 
desired  information  he  proceeded  to  Edward  Wool- 
ley's,  where  he  found  his  father  in  good  health,  but 
extremely  anxious  about  the  family. 

On  hearing  that  William  was  in  the  place,  many 
of  the  inhabitants  were  desirous  that  he  should 
preach,  and  he  agreed  to  do  so;  but  a  few  declared 
that  if  he  did  they  would  tar  and  feather  him.  One 
of  these  was  Mr.  Bear,  a  man  of  unusual  size  and 
strength;  besides  him  there  were  three  others. 
These  men  came  into  the  house  just  as  William  was 
taking  his  text,  which  was,  "The  poor  deluded  Mor- 
mons." The  singularity  of  this  text  excited  their 
curiosity,  and  they  stopped  in  the  doorway,  saying, 
Wait  a  little,  let  us  see  what  he  will  do  with  his 
text.  And  they  waited  so  long,  that  they  either  for- 
got what  they  came  for,  or  changed  their  minds,  for 
they  made  no  further  moves  towaras  using  their  tar 
and  feathers.  After  meeting,  Mr.  Bear  frankly 
acknowledged  his  conviction  of  the  truth,  and  was 
baptized. 

Immediately  after  this  William  returned  home 
and  his  father  went  again  to  New  Portage.  Here 
he  remained  with  Don  Carlos  until  we  were  ready 
to  start  to  Missouri. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


271 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR,  MOVES  WITH  HIS  FAMILY  TO 
MISSOURI — COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  PERSE- 
CUTION IN  CALDWELL. 

When  we  were  ready  to  start  on  our  journey,  I 
went  to  New  Portage,  and  brought  my  husband  to 
his  family,  and  we  all  proceeded  together  on  our 
journey,  highly  delighted  to  enjoy  each  other's 
society  again,  after  so  long  a  separation. 

As  soon  as  we  had  got  fairly  started,  our  sons 
began  to  have  calls  to  preach,  and  they  directly  dis- 
covered that  if  they  should  yield  tx)  every  solicita- 
tion, our  journey  would  be  a  preaching  mission  of 
no  inconsiderable  length,  which  was  quite  inconsist- 
ent with  the  number  and  situation  of  our  family. 
They  therefore  stopped  preaching,  while  on  their 
journey,  and  we  proceeded  as  fast  as  possible,  under 
the  disadvantageous  circumstances  with  which  we 
were  frequently  surrounded.  Sometimes  we  lay  in 
our  tents,  through  driving  storms;  at  other  times 
we  were  traveling  on  foot  through  marshes  and 
quagmires.  Once  in  particular,  we  lay  all  night 
exposed  to  the  rain,  which  fell  in  torrents,  so  that 
when  I  arose  in  the  morning  I  found  that  my  cloth- 
ing was  perfectly  saturated  with  the  rain.  How- 
ever, I  could  not  mend  the  matter  by  a  change  of 
dress,  for  the  rain  was  still  falling  rapidly,  and  I 
wore  my  clothes  in  this  situation  three  days,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  I  took  a  severe  cold,  so  that  when 


272  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

we  arrived  at  the  Mississippi  River  I  was  unable  to 
walk  or  sit  up.  After  crossing  this  river,  we  stopped 
at  a  negro  hut,  a  most  unlovely  place,  yet  the  best 
shelter  we  could  find.  This  hut  was  the  birthplace 
of  Catharine's  daughter. 

The  next  day  my  husband  succeeded  in  getting  a 
comfortable  place,  about  four  miles  distant,  for 
Catharine  and  her  infant  daughter,  and  they  were 
carried  thither  on  a  lumber  wagon,  the  same  day. 
We  then  agreed  that  Sophronia,  and  her  second  hus- 
band, McCleary,  should  stop  and  take  care  of  Catha- 
rine, while  Mr.  Smith  and  the  remainder  of  the  party 
should  take  me  and  make  what  speed  they  could  to 
Huntsville. 

Our  progress  was  but  slow,  for  I  was  unable  to 
travel  more  than  four  miles  a  day,  on  account  of  a 
violent  cough  with  which  I  was  afflicted;  however, 
we  at  length  arrived  there,  and  succeeded  in  getting 
a  place  where  we  could  stay  for  some  considerable 
length  of  time,  if  we  should  think  proper  to  do  so. 

The  next  morning  after  our  arrival,  the  family 
being  absent,  I  seized  the  opportunity  to  make  an 
effort  to  get  far  enough  from  the  house  to  pray  with- 
out interruption.  Accordingly,  I  took  a  staff  in 
each  hand,  and,  by  the  assistance  which  they  afforded 
me,  I  was  enabled  to  reach  a  dense  thicket,  which 
lay  some  distance  from  the  house.  As  soon  as  I 
was  sufficiently  rested  to  speak  with  ease,  I  com- 
menced calling  upon  the  Lord,  beseeching  him  to 
restore  me  to  health,  as  well  as  my  daughter  Catha- 
rine. I  urged  every  claim  which  is  afforded  us  by 
the  Scriptures,  and  continued  praying  faithfully  for 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


273 


three  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time  I  was  relieved 
of  every  kind  of  pain,  my  cough  left  me,  and  I  was 
well. 

At  one  o'clock,  Wilkins  J.  Salisbury,  Catharine's 
husband,  came  to  Huntsville,  and  informed  us  that 
Catharine  was  so  much  better,  that,  if  she  had  a 
carriage  to  ride  in,  she  could  proceed  on  her  jour- 
ney. 

After  getting  a  carriage,  Salisbury  returned  to 
his  wife,  who  was  forty  miles  from  Huntsville,  and 
the  first  day  she  traveled,  she  rode  thirty  miles.  The 
second  day,  it  commenced  raining  quite  early  in  the 
morning,  and  continued  to  rain  all  day.  However, 
this  did  not  stop  Catharine;  she  started  about  eight 
o'clock  and  arrived  at  the  above-named  place  a  little 
before  noon.  When  she  got  to  Huntsville  she  was 
wet  and  cold.  We  put  her  immediately  into  a  dry 
bed,  and  soon  after  she  had  an  ague  fit.  The  elders 
were  called  to  lay  hands  upon  her,  after  which  she 
seemed  better,  but  continued  weak  and  inclined  to 
chills  and  fever  some  time. 

The  day  following  I  washed  a  quantity  of  clothes, 
and  then  we  proceeded  on  our  journey,  and  met  with 
no  further  difficulty  until  we  arrived  at  Far  West. 

We  moved  into  a  small  log  house,  having  but  one 
room,  a  very  inconvenient  place  for  so  large  a  fam- 
ily. Joseph  saw  how  uncomfortably  we  were  situ- 
ated, and  proposed  that  we  should  take  a  large 
tavern  house,  which  he  had  recently  purchased  of 
Brother  Gilbert.  We  took  the  tavern,  and  moved 
into  it.  Samuel,  previous  to  this,  had  moved  to  a 
place  called  Marrowbone.  William  had  moved  thirty 


274  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

miles  in  another  direction.  We  were  all  now  quite 
comfortable.  But  this  state  of  affairs  was  of  short 
duration,  for  it  was  not  long  before  our  peace  was 
again  disturbed  by  the  mob.  An  election  took  place 
at  Gallatin,  the  county-seat  of  Daviess  County;  the 
brethren  went  to  the  polls,  as  usual,  but,  on  attempt- 
ing to  vote,  they  were  forbidden  by  the  mob.  They, 
however,  paid  no  attention  to  this,  but  proceeded  to 
vote;  upon  which  one  of  the  mob  struck  Brother 
John  Butler  a  heavy  blow,  which  was  returned  by 
the  latter,  with  a  force  that  brought  his  antagonist 
to  the  ground.  Four  others  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  fallen  man,  and  shared  the  same  fate.  The 
mob  saw  the  discomfiture  of  their  champions  with 
shame  and  disappointment,  and  not  choosing  to  ren- 
der them  any  present  help,  they  waited  till  evening, 
when,  procuring  the  assistance  of  the  judge  of  the 
election,  they  wrote  letters  to  all  the  adjoining  coun- 
ties, begging  their  assistance  against  the  "Mormons." 
They  stated  that  Joseph  Smith  had,  himself,  killed 
seven  men,  at  the  election  the  day  previous,  and  that 
the  inhabitants  had  every  reason  to  expect  that  he 
would  collect  his  people  together,  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  murder  all  that  did  not  belong  to  his  church. 

These  letters  were  extensively  circulated,  and  as 
widely  believed. 

A  few  days  subsequent  to  this,  Joseph  was  at  our 
house  writing  a  letter.  While  he  was  thus  engaged, 
I  stepped  to  the  door,  and  looking  toward  the  prairie, 
I  beheld  a  large  company  of  armed  men  advancing 
towards  the  city,  but,  as  I  supposed  it  to  be  training 
day,  said  nothing  about  it. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


275 


Presently  the  main  body  came  to  a  halt.  The 
officers  dismounting,  eight  of  them  came  into  the 
house.  Thinking  that  they  had  come  for  some 
refreshments,  I  offered  them  chairs,  but  they  refused 
to  be  seated,  and,  placing  themselves  in  a  line  across 
the  floor,  continued  standing.  I  again  requested 
them  to  sit,  but  they  replied,  "We  do  not  choose  to 
sit  down;  we  have  come  here  to  kill  Joe  Smith  and 
all  the  Mormons." 

"Ah,"  said  I,  "what  has  Joseph  Smith  done,  that 
you  should  want  to  kill  him?" 

"He  has  killed  seven  men  in  Daviess  County," 
replied  the  foremost,  "and  we  have  come  to  kill  him, 
and  all  his  church." 

"He  has  not  been  in  Daviess  County,"  I  answered, 
"consequently  the  report  must  be  false.  Further- 
more, if  you  should  see  him,  you  would  not  want 
to  kill  him." 

"There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  report  is  perfectly 
correct,"  rejoined  the  officer;  "it  came  straight  to 
us,  and  I  believe  it;  and  we  were  sent  to  kill  the 
prophet  and  all  who  believe  in  him,  and  I'll  be 
d — d  if  I  don't  execute  my  orders." 

"I  suppose,"  said  I,  "you  intend  to  kill  me,  with 
the  rest?" 

"Yes,  we  do,"  returned  the  officer. 

"Very  well,"  I  continued,  "I  want  you  to  act  the 
gentlemen  about  it,  and  do  the  job  quick.  Just 
shoot  me  down  at  once,  then  I  shall  be  at  rest;  but 
I  should  not  like  to  be  murdered  by  inches." 

"There  it  is  again,"  said  he.    "You  tell  a  Mormon 


276  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

that  you  will  kill  him,  and  they  will  always  tell  you, 
'That  is  nothing — if  you  kill  us,  we  shall  be  happy.'  " 

Joseph,  just  at  this  moment,  finished  his  letter, 
and,  seeing  that  he  was  at  liberty,  I  said,  "Gentle- 
men, suffer  me  to  make  you  acquainted  with  Joseph 
Smith,  the  prophet."  They  stared  at  him  as  if  he 
were  a  spectre.  He  smiled,  and,  stepping  towards 
them,  gave  each  of  them  his  hand,  in  a  manner  which 
convinced  them  that  he  was  neither  a  guilty  criminal 
nor  yet  a  hypocrite. 

Joseph  then  sat  down,  and  explained  to  them  the 
views,  feelings,  etc.,  of  the  church,  and  what  their 
course  had  been;  besides  the  treatment  which  they 
had  received  from  their  enemies  since  the  first.  He 
also  argued  that  if  any  of  the  brethren  had  broken 
the  law  they  ought  to  be  tried  by  the  law,  before 
any  one  else  was  molested.  After  talking  with 
them  some  time  in  this  way,  he  said,  "Mother,  I 
believe  I  will  go  home  now — Emma  will,  be  expect- 
ing me."  At  this  two  of  the  men  sprang  to  their 
feet,  and  declared  that  he  should  not  go  alone,  as 
it  would  be  unsafe — ^that  they  would  go  with  him, 
in  order  to  protect  him.  Accordingly,  the  three  left 
together,  and,  during  their  absence,  I  overheard  the 
following  conversation  among  the  officers,  who 
remained  at  the  door: 

First  Officer:  "Did  you  not  feel  strangely  when 
Smith  took  you  by  the  hand?  I  never  felt  so  in  my 
life." 

Second  Officer:    "I  could  not  move.    I  would  not 
harm  a  hair  of  that  man's  head  for  the  whole  world." 
Third  Officer:    "This  is  the  last  time  you  will 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


277 


catch  me  coming  to  kill  Joe  Smith,  or  the  Mormons 
either." 

First  Officer:  "I  guess  this  is  about  my  last  expe- 
dition against  this  place.  I  never  saw  a  more  harm- 
less, innocent  appearing  man,  than  that  Mormon 
prophet." 

Second  Officer:  "That  story  about  his  killing 
them  men  is  a  d — d  lie,  there  is  no  doubt  of  it;  and 
we  have  had  all  this  trouble  for  nothing;  but  they 
will  never  fool  me  in  this  way  again,  I'll  warrant 
them." 

The  men  who  went  home  with  my  son  promised 
to  disband  the  militia  under  them,  and  go  home, 
which  they  accordingly  did,  and  we  supposed  that 
peace  was  again  restored.  After  they  were  gone, 
Joseph  and  Hyrum  went  to  Daviess  County,  and, 
receiving  the  strongest  assurance  from  the  civil  offi- 
cers of  that  county,  that  equal  rights  should  be 
administered  to  all  parties,  they  returned,  hoping 
that  all  would  be  well. 

About  this  time  we  heard  that  William  and  his 
wife  were  very  sick.  Samuel,  who  was  then  at  Far 
West,  set  out  with  a  carriage  to  bring  them  to  our 
house,  and,  in  a  few  days,  returned  with  them.  They 
were  very  low  when  they  arrived ;  however,  by  great 
care  and  close  attention,  they  soon  began  to  recover. 

Soon  after  Samuel  brought  William  and  Caroline 
to  our  house,  there  was  bom  unto  Samuel  a  son, 
whom  he  called  by  his  own  name.  When  the  child 
was  three  days  old,  his  father  was  compelled  to  leave, 
and,  on  the  fourth  day  of  its  existence,  his  mother 
was  informed  that  she  must  leave  home  forthwith, 


278  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

and  take  a  journey  of  thirty  miles  to  Far  West. 
One  of  the  neighbors  offered  to  furnish  her  a  team, 
and  a  small  boy  to  drive  it,  if  she  would  start  imme- 
diately. To  this  she  agreed.  A  lumber  wagon  was 
brought,  and  she,  with  her  bed,  her  children,  and 
very  little  clothing  either  for  them  or  herself,  was 
put  into  it,  and  sent  to  Far  West,  under  the  care 
of  a  boy  of  eleven  years  of  age. 

The  day  following,  Samuel  started  home  from  Far 
West,  although  the  rain  was  falling  fast,  and  had 
been  all  the  night  previous.  He  had  proceeded  but 
ten  miles  when  he  met  his  wife  and  children,  exposed 
to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  dripping  with 
wet.  He  returned  with  them  to  Far  West,  where 
they  arrived  in  about  thirty-six  hours  after  they 
left  Marrowbone,  without  having  taken  any  nour- 
ishment from  the  time  they  left  home.  She  was 
entirely  speechless  and  stiff  with  the  cold.  We  laid 
her  on  a  bed,  and  my  husband  and  sons  adminis- 
tered to  her  by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  We  then 
changed  her  clothing,  and  put  her  into  warm  blank- 
ets, and,  after  pouring  a  little  wine  and  water  into 
her  mouth,  she  was  administered  to  again.  This 
time  she  opened  her  eyes,  and  seemed  to  revive  a 
little.  I  continued  to  employ  every  means  that  lay 
in  my  power  for  her  recovery,  and  in  this  I  was 
much  assisted  by  Emma  and  my  daughters. 

My  children  soon  began  to  mend,  and  I  felt  to 
rejoice  at  the  prospect  of  returning  health. 

When  William  began  to  sit  up  a  little,  he  told  me 
that  he  had  a  vision  during  his  sickness,  in  which 
he  saw  a  tremendous  army  of  men  coming  into  Far 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


279 


West,  and  that  it  was  his  impression  that  the  time 
would  not  be  long  before  he  should  see  it  fulfilled. 
I  was  soon  convinced,  by  the  circumstances  which 
afterwards  transpired,  that  he  was  not  mistaken  in 
his  opinion. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 
TESTIMONY  OF  HYRUM  SMITH. 

Here  I  shall  introduce  a  brief  history  of  our  trou- 
bles in  Missouri,  given  by  my  son  Hyrum,  before 
the  Municipal  Court,  at  Nauvoo,  June  30,  1843, 
when  Joseph  was  tried  for  treason  against  the  state 
of  Missouri: 

"Hyrum  Smith,  sworn:  Said  that  the  defend- 
ant now  in  court  is  his  brother,  and  that  his  name 
is  not  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  but  his  name  is  Joseph 
Smith,  Sr.,  and  has  been  for  more  than  two  years 
past.  I  have  been  acquainted  with  him  ever  since 
he  was  born,  which  was  thirty-seven  years  in  Decem- 
ber last,  and  I  have  not  been  absent  from  him  at 
any  one  time,  not  even  for  the  space  of  six  months, 
since  his  birth,  to  my  recollection;  and  have  been 
intimately  acquainted  with  all  his  sayings,  doings, 
business  transactions,  and  movements,  as  much  as 
any  one  man  could  be  acquainted  with  any  other 
man's  business,  up  to  the  present  time,  and  do  know 
that  he  has  not  committed  treason  against  any  State 
in  the  Union,  by  any  overt  act,  or  by  levying  war,  or 
by  aiding  and  abetting,  or  assisting  an  enemy,  in 


280  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

any  State  in  the  Union.  And  that  the  said  Joseph 
Smith,  Sr.,  has  not  committed  treason  in  the  state 
of  Missouri,  nor  violated  any  law  or  rule  of  said 
State,  I  being  personally  acquainted  with  the  trans- 
actions and  doings  of  said  Smith,  whilst  he  resided 
in  said  State,  which  was  for  about  six  months  in  the 
year  1838;  I  being  also  a  resident  in  said  State, 
during  the  same  period  of  time.  And  I  do  know 
that  said  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  never  was  subject  to 
military  duty  in  any  State,  neither  was  he  in  the 
state  of  Missouri,  he  being  exempt  by  the  amputa- 
tion or  extraction  of  a  bone  from  his  leg,  and  by 
his  having  a  license  to  preach  the  gospel,  or  being 
in  other  words,  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  And  I  do 
know  that  said  Smith  never  bore  arms  as  a  military 
man,  in  any  capacity  whatever,  whilst  in  the  state 
of  Missouri,  or  previous  to  that  time ;  neither  has  he 
given  any  orders,  or  assumed  any  command,  in  any 
capacity  whatever.  But  I  do  know  that  whilst  he 
was  in  the  state  of  Missouri,  that  the  people  com- 
monly called  'Mormons,'  were  threatened  with  vio- 
lence and  extermination,  and  on  or  about  the  first 
Monday  in  August,  1838,  at  the  election  at  Gallatin, 
the  county-seat  in  Daviess  County,  the  citizens  who 
were  commonly  called  'Mormons,'  were  forbidden  to 
exercise  the  rights  of  franchise,  and  from  that 
unhallowed  circumstance  an  affray  commenced,  and 
a  fight  ensued  among  the  citizens  of  that  place,  and 
from  that  time  a  mob  commenced  gathering  in  that 
county,  threatening  the  extermination  of  the  'Mor- 
mons.' The  said  Smith  and  myself,  upon  hearing  ^ 
that  mobs  were  collecting  together,  and  that  they 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


281 


had  also  murdered  two  of  the  citizens  of  the  same 
place,  and  would  not  suffer  them  to  be  buried,  the 
said  Smith  and  myself  went  over  to  Daviess  County 
to  learn  the  particulars  of  the  aifray;  but  upon  our 
arrival  at  Diahman,  we  learned  that  none  were 
killed,  but  several  were  wounded.  We  tarried  all 
night  at  Colonel  Lyman  Wight's.  The  next  morn- 
ing, the  weather  being  very  warm,  and  having  been 
very  dry  for  some  time  previous,  the  springs  and 
wells  in  that  region  were  dried  up.  On  mounting 
our  horses  to  return,  we  rode  up  to  Mr.  Black's,  who 
was  then  an  acting  justice  of  the  peace,  to  obtain 
some  water  for  ourselves  and  horses.  Some  few 
of  the  citizens  accompanied  us  there,  and  after 
obtaining  the  refreshment  of  water,  Mr.  Black  was 
asked,  by  said  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  if  he  would  use 
his  influence  to  see  that  the  laws  were  faithfully 
executed,  and  to  put  down  mob  violence,  and  he  gave 
us  a  paper  written  by  his  own  hand,  stating  that  he 
would  do  so.  He  also  requested  him,  (Mr.  Black) 
to  call  together  the  most  influential  men  of  the 
county  the  next  day,  that  we  might  have  an  inter- 
view with  them;  to  this  he  acquiesced,  and  accord- 
ingly, the  next  day  they  assembled  at  the  house  of 
Colonel  Wight,  and  entered  into  a  mutual  covenant 
of  peace  to  put  down  mob  violence,  and  to  protect 
each  other  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights.  After 
this  we  all  parted  with  the  best  of  feelings,  and 
each  man  returned  to  his  own  home.  This  mutual 
agreement  of  peace,  however,  did  not  last  long;  for 
but  a  few  days  afterwards  the  mob  began  to  collect 
again,  until  several  hundreds  rendezvoused  at  Mill- 


282  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

port,  a  few  miles  distant  from  Diahman.  They  im- 
mediately commenced  making  aggressions  upon  the 
citizens  called  'Mormons,'  taking  away  their  hogs 
and  cattle,  and  threatening  them  with  extermination, 
or  utter  destruction ;  saying  that  they  had  a  cannon, 
and  there  should  be  no  compromise  only  at  its 
mouth;  frequently  taking  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren prisoners,  whipping  them  and  lacerating  their 
bodies  with  hickory  withes,  and  tying  them  to  trees, 
and  depriving  them  of  food  until  they  were  com- 
pelled to  gnaw  the  bark  from  the  trees  to  which 
they  were  bound,  in  order  to  sustain  life,  treating 
them  in  the  most  cruel  manner  they  could  invent  or 
think  of,  and  doing  everything  they  could  to  excite 
the  indignation  of  the  'Mormon'  people  to  rescue 
them,  in  order  that  they  might  make  that  a  pretext 
for  an  accusation  for  the  breach  of  the  law,  and  that 
they  might  the  better  excite  the  prejudice  of  the 
populace,  and  thereby  get  aid  and  assistance  to  carry 
out  their  hellish  purposes  of  extermination.  Imme- 
diately on  the  authentication  of  these  facts,  mes- 
sengers were  dispatched  from  Far  West  to  Austin 
A.  King,  judge  of  the  fifth  judicial  district  of  the 
state  of  Missouri,  and  also  to  Major-general  Atchi- 
son, commander-in-chief  of  that  division,  and  Briga- 
dier-general Doniphan,  giving  them  information  of 
the  existing  facts,  and  demanding  immediate  assist- 
ance. General  Atchison  returned  with  the  messen- 
gers, and  went  immediately  to  Diahman,  and  from 
thence  to  Millport,  and  he  found  the  facts  were  true 
as.  reported  to  him ;  that  the  citizens  of  that  county 
were  assembled  together  in  a  hostile  attitude,  to  the 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


283 


amount  of  two  or  three  hundred  men,  threatening 
the  utter  extermination  of  the  'Mormons.'  He  im- 
mediately returned  to  Clay  County,  and  ordered  out 
a  sufficient  military  force  to  quell  the  mob.  Imme- 
diately after  they  were  dispersed,  and  the  army 
returned,  the  mob  commenced  collecting  again ;  soon 
after,  we  again  applied  for  military  aid,  when  Gen- 
eral Doniphan  came  out  with  a  force  of  sixty  armed 
men  to  Far  West;  but  they  were  in  such  a  state  of 
insubordination,  that  he  said  he  could  not  control 
them,  and  it  was  thought  advisable  by  Colonel 
Hinkle,  Mr.  Rigdon,  and  others,  that  they  should 
return  home.  General  Doniphan  ordered  Colonel 
Hinkle  to  call  out  the  militia  of  Caldwell,  and  defend 
the  town  against  the  mob,  for,  said  he,  you  have 
great  reason  to  be  alarmed ;  for,  he  said,  Neil  Gillum, 
from  the  Platte  Country  had  come  down  with  two 
hundred  armed  men,  and  had  taken  up  their  station 
at  Hunter's  Mill,  a  place  distant  about  seventeen  or 
eighteen  miles  northwest  of  the  town  of  Far  West, 
and,  also,  that  an  armed  force  had  collected  again 
at  Millport,  in  Daviess  County,  consisting  of  several 
hundred  men,  and  that  another  armed  force  had  col- 
lected at  De  Witt,  in  Carroll  County,  about  fifty 
miles  southeast  of  Far  West,  where  about  seventy 
families  of  the  'Mormon'  people  had  settled,  upon 
the  bank  of  the  Missouri  River,  at  a  little  town 
called  De  Witt.  Immediately  a  messenger,  whilst 
he  was  yet  talking,  came  in  from  De  Witt,  stating, 
that  three  or  four  hundred  men  had  assembled 
together  at  that  place,  armed  cap-a-j)ie,  and  that 
they  threatened  the  utter  extinction  of  the  citizens 


284  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

of  that  place,  if  they  did  not  leave  the  place  imme- 
diately, and  that  they  had  also  surrounded  the  town 
and  cut  off  all  supplies  of  food,  so  that  many  of 
them  were  suffering  with  hunger.  General  Doni- 
phan seemed  to  be  very  much  alarmed,  and  appeared 
to  be  willing  to  do  all  that  he  could  to  assist,  and 
to  relieve  the  sufferings  of  the  'Mormon'  people.  He 
advised  that  a  petition  be  immediately  got  up  and 
sent  to  the  governor.  A  petition  was  accordingly 
prepared,  and  a  messenger  immediately  dispatched 
to  the  governor,  and  another  petition  was  sent  to 
Judge  King.  The  'Mormon'  people  throughout  the 
country  were  in  a  state  of  great  alarm,  and  also  in 
great  distress.  They  saw  themselves  completely 
surrounded  with  armed  forces,  on  the  north,  and  on 
the  northwest,  and  on  the  south,  and  also  Bogard, 
who  was  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  who  was  then 
a  captain  over  a  militia  company  of  fifty  soldiers, 
but  who  had  added  to  his  number,  out  of  the  sur- 
rounding counties,  about  a  hundred  more,  which 
made  his  force  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  strong, 
was  stationed  at  Crooked  Creek,  sending  out  his 
scouting  parties,  taking  men,  women,  and  children 
prisoners,  driving  off  cattle,  hogs,  and  horses,  enter- 
ing into  every  house  on  Log  and  Long  Creeks,  rifling 
their  houses  of  their  most  precious  articles,  such  as 
money,  bedding,  and  clothing,  taking  all  their  old 
muskets  and  their  rifles  or  military  implements, 
threatening  the  people  with  instant  death  if  they 
did  not  deliver  up  all  their  precious  things,  and  enter 
into  a  covenant  to  leave  the  State  or  go  into  the 
city  of  Far  West  by  the  next  morninc.  savincr  that 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


285 


'they  calculated  to  drive  the  people  into  Far  West, 
and  then  drive  them  to  hell.'  Gillum  also  was  doing 
the  same  on  the  northwest  side  of  Far  West;  and 
Sashiel  Woods,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  was  the 
leader  of  the  mob  in  Daviess  County,  and  a  very 
noted  man,  of  the  same  society,  was  the  leader  of 
the  mob  in  Carroll  County ;  and  they  were  also  send- 
ing out  their  scouting  parties,  robbing  and  pillaging 
houses,  driving  away  hogs,  horses,  and  cattle,  tak- 
ing men,  women,  and  children,  and  carrying  them 
off,  threatening  their  lives,  and  subjecting  them  to 
all  manner  of  abuses  that  they  could  invent  or 
think  of. 

"Under  this  state  of  alarm,  excitement,  and  dis- 
tress, the  messengers  returned  from  the  governor, 
and  from  the  other  authorities,  bringing  the  fatal 
news  that  the  'Mormons'  could  have  no  assistance. 
They  stated  that  the  governor  said,  'that  the  Mor- 
mons had  got  into  a  difficulty  with  the  citizens,  and 
they  might  fight  it  out,  for  all  he  cared,  he  could  not 
render  them  any  assistance.' 

"The  people  of  De  Witt  were  obliged  to  leave  their 
homes  and  go  into  Far  West;  but  did  not  until 
many  of  them  had  starved  to  death  for  want  of 
proper  sustenance,  and  several  died  on  the  road 
there,  and  were  buried  by  the  wayside,  without  a 
coffin  or  a  funeral  ceremony,  and  the  distress,  suf- 
ferings, and  privations  of  the  people  can  not  be 
expressed.  All  the  scattered  families  of  the  'Mor- 
mon' people,  in  all  the  counties  except  Daviess,  were 
driven  into  Far  West,  with  but  few  exceptions. 

"This  only  increased  their  distress,  for  many  thou- 


286  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

sands  who  were  driven  there  had  no  habitations  or 
houses  to  shelter  them,  and  were  huddled  together, 
some  in  tents,  and  others  under  blankets,  while  oth- 
ers had  no  shelter  from  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather.  Nearly  two  months  the  people  had  been 
in  this  awful  state  of  consternation,  many  of  them 
had  been  killed,  whilst  others  had  been  whipped  until 
they  had  to  swathe  up  their  bowels  to  prevent  them 
from  falling  out.  About  this  time,  General  Parks 
came  out  from  Richmond,  Ray  County,  who  was  one 
of  the  commissioned  officers  who  was  sent  out  to 
Diahman,  and  I,  myself,  and  my  brother  Joseph 
Smith,  Sr.,  went  out  at  the  same  time. 

"On  the  evening  that  General  Parks  arrived  at 
Diahman,  the  wife  of  the  late  Don  Carlos  Smith, 
my  brother,  came  in  to  Colonel  Wight's,  about  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  bringing  her  two  children  along 
with  her,  one  about  two  years  and  a  half  old,  the 
other  a  babe  in  her  arms.  She  came  in  on  foot,  a 
distance  of  three  miles,  and  waded  Grand  River,  and 
the  water  was  then  about  waist  deep,  and  the  snow 
about  three  inches  deep.  She  stated  that  a  party 
of  the  mob,  a  gang  of  ruffians,  had  turned  her  out 
of  doors,  had  taken  her  household  goods,  and  had 
burned  up  her  house,  and  she  had  escaped  by  the 
skin  of  her  teeth.  Her  husband  at  that  time  was 
in  Virginia,  and  she  was  living  alone.  This  cruel 
transaction  excited  the  feelings  of  the  people  in 
Diahman,  especially  Colonel  Wight,  and  he  asked 
General  Parks,  in  my  hearing,  how  long  we  liad  got 
to  suffer  such  base  violence  ?  General  Parks  said  he 
did  not  know  how  long.    Colonel  Wight  then  asked 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


287 


him  what  should  be  done?  General  Parks  told  him, 
'he  should  take  a  company  of  men,  well  armed,  and 
go  and  disperse  the  mob  wherever  he  should  find  any 
collected  together,  and  take  away  their  arms.'  Colo- 
nel Wight  did  S'O  precisely,  according  to  the  orders 
of  General  Parks,  and  my  brother  Joseph  Smith,  Sr., 
made  no  words  about  it.  And  after  Colonel  Wight 
had  dispersed  the  mob,  and  put  a  stop  to  their  burn- 
ing houses  belonging  to  the  'Mormon'  people  and 
turning  women  and  children  out  of  doors,  which 
they  had  done  up  to  that  time,  to  the  amount  of 
eight  or  ten  houses,  which  were  consumed  to  ashes. 
After  being  cut  short  in  their  intended  designs,  the 
mob  started  up  a  new  plan.  They  went  to  work, 
and  moved  their  families  out  of  the  county,  and  set 
fire  to  their  houses,  and  not  being  able  to  incense 
the  'Mormons'  to  commit  crimes,  they  had  recourse 
to  this  stratagem — to  set  their  houses  on  fire,  and 
send  runners  into  all  the  counties  adjacent,  to  declare 
to  the  people,  that  the  'Mormons'  had  burned  up 
their  houses,  and  destroyed  their  fields;  and  if  the 
people  would  not  believe  them,  they  would  tell  them 
to  go  and  see  if  what  they  had  said  was  not  true. 
Many  people  came  to  see — they  saw  the  houses 
burning,  and  being  filled  with  prejudice,  they  could 
not  be  made  to  believe  but  that  the  'Mormons'  set 
them  on  fire ;  which  deed  was  most  diabolical  and  of 
the  blackest  kind,  for  indeed  the  'Mormons'  did  not 
set  them  on  fire,  nor  meddle  with  their  houses  or 
their  fields.  And  the  houses  that  were  burned, 
together  with  the  preemption  rights,  and  the  corn 
in  the  fields,  had  all  been  previously  purchased  by 


288  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

the  'Mormons,'  of  the  people,  and  paid  for  in  money, 
and  with  wagons  and  horses,  and  with  other  prop- 
erty, about  two  weeks  before;  but  they  had  not 
taken  possession  of  the  premises;  but  this  wicked 
transaction  was  for  the  purpose  of  clandestinely 
exciting  the  minds  of  a  prejudiced  populace  and  the 
Executive,  that  they  might  get  an  order,  that  they 
could  the  more  easily  carry  out  their  hellish  pur- 
poses, in  expulsion  or  extermination,  or  utter  extinc- 
tion of  the  'Mormon'  people.  After  witnessing  the 
distressed  situation  of  the  people  in  Diahman,  my 
brother,  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  and  myself,  returned 
back  to  the  city  of  Far  West,  and  immediately  dis- 
patched a  messenger,  with  written  documents,  to 
General  Atchison,  stating  the  facts  as  they  did  then 
exist,  praying  for  assistance,  if  possible,  and  request- 
ing the  editor  of  the  Far  West  to  insert  the  same  in 
his  newspaper,  but  he  utterly  refused  to  do  so.  We 
still  believed  that  we  should  get  assistance  from  the 
governor,  and  again  petitioned  him,  praying  for 
assistance,  setting  forth  our  distressed  situation. 
And  in  the  meantime,  the  presiding  judge  of  the 
county  court  issued  orders,  upon  affidavits  made  to 
him  by  the  citizens,  to  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  to 
order  out  the  militia  of  the  county,  to  stand  in  con- 
stant readiness,  night  and  day,  to  prevent  the  citi- 
zens from  being  massacred,  which  fearful  situation 
they  were  exposed  to  every  moment.  Everything 
was  very  portentous  and  alarming.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  this,  there  was  a  ray  of  hope  yet  existing  in 
the  minds  of  the  people,  that  the  governor  would 
render  us  assistance.    And  whilst  the  people  were 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


289 


waiting  anxiously  for  deliverance — men,  women,  and 
children  frightened,  praying  and  weeping — we 
beheld  at  a  distance,  crossing  the  prairies,  and 
approaching  the  town,  a  large  army  in  military 
array,  brandishing  their  glittering  swords  in  the 
sunshine,  and  we  could  not  but  feel  joyful  for  a 
moment,  thinking  that  probably  the  governor  had 
sent  an  armed  force  to  our  relief,  notwithstanding 
the  awful  forebodings  that  pervaded  our  breasts. 
But  to  our  great  surprise,  when  the  army  arrived, 
they  came  up  and  formed  in  a  line  in  double  file, 
in  one  half  mile  on  the  east  of  the  city  of  Far  West, 
and  dispatched  three  messengers  with  a  white  flag 
to  come  to  the  city.  They  were  met  by  Captain 
M^rey,  with  a  few  other  individuals,  whose  names 
I  do  not  now  recollect.  I  was,  myself,  standing  close 
by,  and  could  very  distinctly  hear  every  word 
they  said.  Being  filled  with  anxiety,  I  rushed  for- 
ward to  the  spot,  expecting  to  hear  good  news,  but, 
alas!  and  heart-thrilling  to  every  soul  that  heard 
them — they  demanded  three  persons  to  be  brought 
out  of  the  city,  before  they  should  massacre  the  rest. 
The  names  of  the  persons  they  demanded,  were 
Adam  Lightner,  John  Cleminson,  and  his  wife.  Im- 
mediately the  three  persons  were  brought  forth  to 
hold  an  interview  with  the  officers  who  had  made  the 
demand,  and  the  officers  told  them,  they  had  now  a 
chance  to  save  their  lives,  for  they  calculated  to 
destroy  the  people,  and  lay  the  city  in  ashes.  They 
replied  to  the  officers,  and  said,  "If  the  people  must 
be  destroyed,  and  the  city  burned  to  ashes,  they 
would  remain  in  the  city  and  die  with  them."  The 


290  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

officers  immediately  returned,  and  the  army  re- 
treated, and  encamped  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  city.  A  messenger  was  immediately  dispatched 
with  a  white  flag,  from  the  colonel  of  the  militia  of 
Far  West,  requesting  an  interview  with  General 
Atchison,  and  General  Doniphan;  but,  as  the  mes- 
senger approached  the  camp,  he  was  shot  at  by 
Bogard,  the  Methodist  preacher.  The  name  of  the 
messenger  was  Charles  C.  Rich,  who  is  now  briga- 
dier-general in  the  Nauvoo  Legion.  However,  he 
gained  permission  to  see  General  Doniphan.  He 
also  requested  an  interview  with  General  Atchison. 
General  Doniphan  said  that  General  Atchison  had 
been  dismounted  by  a  special  order  of  the  governor, 
a  few  miles  back,  and  had  been  sent  back  to  Liberty, 
Clay  County.  He  also  stated,  that  the  reason  was, 
that  he  (Atchison)  was  too  merciful  unto  the  'Mor- 
mons,' and  Boggs  would  not  let  him  have  the  com- 
mand, but  had  given  it  to  General  Lucas,  who  was 
from  Jackson  County,  and  whose  heart  had  become 
hardened  by  his  former  acts  of  rapine  and  blood- 
shed, he  being  one  of  the  leaders  in  murdering,  driv- 
ing, plundering,  and  burning,  some  two  or  three 
hundred  houses  belonging  to  the  'Mormon'  people 
in  that  county,  in  the  years  1833  and  1834. 

"Mr.  Rich  requested  General  Doniphan  to  spare 
the  people,  and  not  suffer  them  to  be  massacred  until 
the  next  morning,  it  then  being  evening.  He  coolly 
agreed  that  he  would  not,  and  also  said,  that,  'he 
had  not  as  yet  received  the  governor's  order,  but 
expected  it  every  hour,  and  should  not  make  any 
further  move  until  he  had  received  it;  but  he  would 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


291 


not  make  any  promises  so  far  as  regarded  Neil 
Gillum's  army,'  (he  having  arrived  a  few  minutes 
previously,  and  joined  the  main  body  of  the  army, 
he  knowing  well  at  what  hour  to  form  a  junction 
with  the  main  body).  Mr.  Rich  then  returned  to 
the  city,  giving  this  information.  The  colonel  imme- 
diately dispatched  a  second  messenger  with  a  white 
flag,  to  request  another  interview  with  General 
Doniphan,  in  order  to  touch  his  sympathy  and  com- 
passion, and  if  it  were  possible,  for  him  to  use  his 
best  endeavors  to  preserve  the  lives  of  the  people. 
On  the  return  of  this  messenger,  we  learned  that  sev- 
eral persons  had  been  killed  by  some  of  the  soldiers, 
who  were  under  the  command  of  General  Lucas. 
One  Mr.  Carey  had  his  brains  knocked  out  by  the 
breech  of  a  gun,  and  he  lay  bleeding  several  hours; 
but  his  family  were  not  permitted  to  approach  him, 
nor  any  one  else  allowed  to  administer  relief  to  him 
whilst  he  lay  upon  the  ground  in  the  agonies  of 
death.  Mr.  Carey  had  just  arrived  in  the  country, 
from  the  state  of  Ohio,  only  a  few  hours  previous 
to  the  arrival  of  the  army.  He  had  a  family  con- 
sisting of  a  wife  and  several  small  children.  He 
was  buried  by  Lucius  N.  Scovil,  who  is  now  the 
senior  warden  of  the  Nauvoo  Lodge.  Another  man, 
of  the  name  of  John  Tanner,  was  knocked  on  the 
head  at  the  same  time,  and  his  skull  laid  bare  the 
width  of  a  man's  hand,  and  he  lay,  to  all  appear- 
ance, in  the  agonies  of  death  for  several  hours;  but 
by  the  permission  of  General  Doniphan,  his  friends 
brought  him  out  of  the  camp,  and  with  good  nurs- 
ing he  slowly  recovered,  and  is  now  living.  There 


292  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

was  another  man,  whose  name  is  Powell,  who  was 
beat  on  the  head  with  the  breech  of  a  gun  until  his 
skull  was  fractured,  and  his  brains  ran  -out  in  two 
or  three  places.  He  is  now  alive,  and  resides  in 
this  county,  but  has  lost  the  use  of  his  senses; 
several  persons  of  his  family  were  also  left  for  dead, 
but  have  since  recovered.  These  acts  of  barbarity 
were  also  committed  by  the  soldiers  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Lucas,  previous  to  having  received 
the  governor's  order  of  extermination. 

"It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  30th  of  October, 
according  to  the  best  of  my  recollection,  that  the 
army  arrived  at  Far  West,  the  sun  about  half  an 
hour  high.  In  a  few  moments  afterwards,  Cornelius 
Gillum  arrived  with  his  army  and  formed  a  junc- 
tion. This  Gillum  had  been  stationed  at  Hunter's 
Mills  for  about  two  months  previous  to  that  time — 
committing  depredations  upon  the  inhabitants,  cap- 
turing men,  women,  and  children,  and  carrying 
them 'off  as  prisoners,  lacerating  their  bodies  with 
hickory  withes.  The  army  of  Gillum  were  painted 
like  Indians,  some  of  them  were  more  conspicuous 
than  were  others,  designated  by  red  spots,  and  he 
also  was  painted  in  a  similar  manner,  with  red  spots 
marked  on  his  face,  and  styled  himself  the  "Dela- 
ware chief."  They  would  whoop,  and  halloa,  and 
yell,  as  nearly  like  Indians  as  they  could,  and  con- 
tinued to  do  so  all  that  night.  In  the  morning  early 
the  colonel  of  militia  sent  a  messenger  into  the 
camp,  with  a  white  flag,  to  have  another  interview 
with  General  Doniphan.  On  his  return  he  informed 
us  that  the  governor's  orders  had  arrived.  General 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


293 


Doniphan  said,  'that  the  order  of  the  governor  was, 
to  exterminate  the  Mormons  by  God,  but  he  would 
be  d — d  if  he  obeyed  that  order,  but  General  Lucas 
might  do  what  he  pleased.'  We  immediately  learned 
from  General  Doniphan,  that  the  governor's  order 
that  had  arrived  was  only  a  copy  of  the  original,  and 
that  the  original  order  was  in  the  hands  of  Major 
General  Clark,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Far  West 
with  an  additional  army  of  six  thousand  men.' 
Immediately  after  this  there  came  into  the  city  a 
messenger  from  Haun's  Mill,  bringing  the  intelli- 
gence of  an  awful  massacre  of  the  people  who  were 
residing  in  that  place,  and  that  a  force  of  two  or 
three  hundred,  detached  from  the  main  body  of  the 
army,  under  the  superior  command  of  Colonel  Ash- 
ley, but  under  the  immediate  command  of  Captain 
Nehemiah  Comstock,  who,  the  day  previous,  had 
promised  them  peace  and  protection,  but  on  receiv- 
ing a  copy  of  the  governor's  order,  'to  exterminate 
or  to  expel,'  from  the  hands  of  Colonel  Ashley,  he 
returned  upon  them  the  following  day,  and  sur- 
prised and  massacred  the  whole  population  of  the 
town,  and  then  came  on  to  the  town  of  Far  West, 
and  entered  into  conjunction  with  the  main  body  of 
the  army.  The  messenger  informed  us,  that  he, 
himself,  with  a  few  others,  fled  into  the  thickets, 
which  preserved  them  from  the  massacre,  and  on 
the  following  morning  they  returned,  and  collected 
the  dead  bodies  of  the  people,  and  cast  them  into  a 
well;  and  there  were  upwards  of  twenty,  who  were 
dead,  or  mortally  wounded,  and  there  are  several  of 
the  wounded,  who  are  now  living  in  this  city.  One 


294  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

of  the  name  of  Yocum,  has  lately  had  his  leg  ampu- 
tated, in  consequence  of  wounds  he  then  received. 
He  had  a  ball  shot  through  his  head,  which  entered 
near  his  eye  and  came  out  at  the  back  part  of  his 
head,  and  another  ball  passed  through  one  of  his 
arms. 

'The  army  during  all  the  while  they  had  been 
encamped  in  Far  West,  continued  to  lay  waste  fields 
of  corn,  making  hogs,  sheep,  and  cattle  common  plun- 
der, and  shooting  them  down  for  sport.  One  man 
shot  a  cow,  and  took  a  strip  of  her  skin,  the  width 
of  his  hand,  from  her  head  to  her  tail,  'and  tied  it 
around  a  tree  to  slip  his  halter  into  to  tie  his  horse 
to.  The  city  was  surrounded  with  a  strong  guard, 
and  no  man,  woman,  or  child,  was  permitted  to  go 
out  or  come  in,  under  the  penalty  of  death.  Many 
of  the  citizens  were  shot,  in  attempting  to  go  out 
to  obtain  sustenance  for  themselves  and  families. 
There  was  one  field  fenced  in,  consisting  of  twelve 
hundred  acres,  mostly  covered  with  corn.  It  was 
entirely  laid  waste  by  the  horses  of  the  army,  and 
the  next  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  army,  towards 
evening,  Colonel  Hinkle  came  up  from  the  camp, 
requesting  to  see  my  brother  Joseph,  Parley  P. 
Pratt,  Sidney  Rigdon,  Lyman  Wight,  and  George 
Robinson,  stating  that  the  officers  of  the  army 
wanted  a  mutual  consultation  with  those  men,  also 
stating  that  Generals  Doniphan,  Lucas,  Wilson,  and 
Graham,  (however,  General  Graham  is  an  honor- 
able exception;  he  did  all  he  could  to  preserve  the 
lives  of  the  people,  contrary  to  the  order  of  the  gov- 
ernor), he  (Hinkle)  assured  them  that  these  gen- 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


295 


erals  had  pledged  their  sacred  honor,  that  they 
should  not  be  abused  or  insulted;  but  should  be 
guarded  back  in  safety  in  the  morning,  or  so  soon  as 
the  consultation  was  over.  My  brother  Joseph 
replied  that  he  did  not  know  what  good  he  could  do 
in  any  consultation,  as  he  was  only  a  private  indi- 
vidual ;  however,  he  said  that  he  was  always  willing 
to  do  all  the  good  he  could,  and  would  obey  every 
law  of  the  land,  and  then  leave  the  event  with  God. 
They  immediately  started  with  Colonel  Hinkle  to  go 
down  into  the  camp.  As  they  were  going  down, 
about  half  way  to  the  camp,  they  met  General  Lucas, 
with  a  phalanx  of  men,  with  a  wing  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left,  and  a  four-pounder  in  the  center. 
They  supposed  he  was  coming  with  this  strong  force 
to  guard  them  into  the  camp  in  safety;  but,  to  their 
surprise,  when  they  came  up  to  General  Lucas,  he 
ordered  his  men  to  surround  them,  and  Hinkle 
stepped  up  to  the  general  and  said,  'These  are  the 
prisoners  I  agreed  to  deliver  up.'  General  Lucas 
drew  his  sword,  and  said,  'Gentlemen,  you  are  my 
prisoners,'  and  about  that  time  the  main  army  were 
on  their  march  to  meet  them.  They  came  up  in  two 
divisions,  and  opened  to  the  right  and  left,  and  my 
brother  and  his  friends  were  marched  down  through 
their  lines,  with  a  strong  guard  in  front,  and  the 
cannon  in  the  rear  to  the  camp,  amidst  the  whoop- 
ings,  hallooings,  yellings,  and  shoutings  of  the  army, 
which  were  so  horrid  and  terrific  that  they  fright- 
ened the  inhabitants  of  the  city.  It  is  impossible 
to  describe  the  feelings  of  horror  and  distress  of  the 
people.    After  being  thus  betrayed,  they  were  placed 


296  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

under  a  strong  guard  of  thirty  men,  armed  cap-a-pie, 
which  were  relieved  every  two  hours.  They  were 
compelled  to  lie  on  the  cold  ground  that  night,  and 
were  told  in  plain  language  that  they  need  never 
expect  their  liberties  again.  So  far  for  their 
honors  pledged.  However,  this  was  as  much  as 
could  be  expected  from  a  mob  under  the  garb  of 
military  and  executive  authority  in  the  state  of  Mis- 
souri. On  the  next  day,  the  soldiers  were  permitted 
to  patrol  the  streets,  to  abuse  and  insult  the  people 
at  their  leisure,  and  enter  into  houses  and  pillage 
them,  and  ravish  the  women,  taking  away  every 
gun,  and  every  other  kind  of  arms  or  military  im- 
plements. And  about  twelve  o'clock  that  day, 
Colonel  Hinkle  came  to  my  house  with  an  armed 
force,  opened  the  door,  and  called  me  out  of  doors 
and  delivered  me  up  as  a  prisoner  unto  that  force. 
They  surrounded  me  and  commanded  me  to  march 
into  the  camp.  I  told  them  that  I  could  not  go,  my 
family  were  sick,  and  I  was  sick  myself,  and  could 
not  leave  home.  They  said,  they  did  not  care  for 
that,  I  must  and  should  go.  I  asked  when  they 
would  permit  me  to  return.  They  made  me  no 
answer,  but  forced  me  along  with  the  point  of  the 
bayonet  into  the  camp,  and  put  me  under  the  same 
guard  with  my  brother  Joseph;  and  within  about 
half  an  hour  afterwards,  Amasa  Lyman  was  also 
brought,  and  placed  under  the  same  guard.  There 
we  were  compelled  to  stay  all  that  night,  and  lie  on 
the  ground;  but  along  some  time  in  the  same  night, 
Colonel  Hinkle  came  to  me  and  told  me  that  he  had 
been  pleading  my  case  before  the  court-martial,  but 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


297 


he  was  afraid  he  sh-ould  not  succeed.  He  said  there 
was  a  court-martial  then  in  session,  consisting  of 
thirteen  or  fourteen  officers,  Circuit  Judge  A.  A. 
King;  and  Mr.  Birch,  district  attorney,  also  Sashiel 
Woods,  Presbyterian  priest,  and  about  twenty  other 
priests  of  the  different  religious  denominations  in 
that  county.  He  said  they  were  determined  to  shoot 
us  on  the  next  morning  in  the  public  square  in  Far 
West.  I  made  him  no  reply.  On  the  next  morning 
about  sunrise,  General  Doniphan  ordered  his  bri- 
gade to  take  up  the  line  of  march,  and  leave  the 
camp.  He  came  to  us  where  we  were  under  guard, 
to  shake  hands  with  us,  and  bid  us  farewell.  His 
first  salutation  was,  'By  God,  you  have  been  sen- 
tenced by  the  court-martial  to  be  shot  this  morning; 
but  I  will  be  d — d  if  I  will  have  any  of  the  honor  of 
it,  or  any  of  the  disgrace  of  it;  therefore  I  have 
ordered  my  brigade  to  take  up  the  line  of  march,  and 
to  leave  the  camp,  for  I  consider  it  to  be  cold-blooded 
murder,  and  I  bid  you  farewell,'  and  he  went  away. 
This  movement  of  General  Doniphan  made  con- 
siderable excitement  in  the  army,  and  there  were 
considerable  whisperings  amongst  the  officers.  We 
listened  very  attentively,  and  frequently  heard  it 
mentioned  by  the  guard,  that  the  d — d  'Mormons' 
would  not  be  shot  this  time.  In  a  few  moments 
the  guard  was  relieved  with  a  new  set;  one  of  the 
new  guard  said,  that  the  d — d  'Mormons'  would  not 
be  shot  this  time,  for  the  movement  of  General 
Doniphan  had  frustrated  the  whole  plan,  and  that 
the  officers  had  called  another  court-martial,  and 
had  ordered  us  to  be  taken  to  Jackson  County,  and 


298  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

there  to  be  executed.  And  in  a  few  moments  two 
large  wagons  drove  up,  and  we  were  ordered  to  get 
mto  them.  While  we  were  getting  into  them,  there 
came  up  four  or  five  men  armed  with  guns,  who 
drew  up,  and  snapped  their  guns  at  us,  in  order  to 
kill  us.  Some  flashed  in  the  pan,  and  others  only 
snapped,  but  none  of  their  guns  went  off.  They 
were  immediately  arrested  by  several  officers,  and 
their  guns  taken  from  them,  and  the  drivers  drove 
off.  We  requested  of  General  Lucas,  to  let  us  go  to 
our  houses  and  get  some  clothing.  In  order  to  do 
this  we  had  to  be  driven  up  into  the  city.  It  was 
with  much  difficulty  that  we  could  get  his  permis- 
sion to  go  and  see  our  families,  and  get  some 
clothing;  but,  after  considerable  consultation,  we 
were  permitted  to  go  under  a  strong  guard  of  five 
or  six  men  to  each  of  us,  and  we  were  not  permitted 
to  speak  to  any  one  of  our  families,  under  the  pain 
of  death.  The  guard  that  went  with  me  ordered  my 
wife  to  get  me  some  clothes  immediately — within 
two  minutes ;  and  if  she  did  not  do  it,  I  should  go  off 
without  them.  I  was  obliged  to  submit  to  their 
tyrannical  orders,  however  painful  it  was,  with  my 
wife  and  children  clinging  to  my  arms  and  to  the 
skirts  of  my  garments,  and  was  not  permitted  to 
utter  to  them  a  word  of  consolation,  and  in  a 
moment  was  hurried  away  from  them  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet.  We  were  hurried  back  to  the 
wagons  and  ordered  into  them,  all  in  about  the  same 
space  of  time.  In  the  meanwhile,  our  father,  and 
mother,  and  sisters,  had  forced  their  way  to  the 
wagons  to  get  permission  to  see  us,  but  were  for- 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


299 


bidden  to  speak  to  us,  and  we  were  immediately 
driven  off  for  Jackson  County.  We  traveled  about 
twelve  miles  that  evening,  and  encamped  for  the 
night.  The  same  strong  guard  was  kept  around  us, 
and  was  relieved  every  two  hours,  and  we  were  per- 
mitted to  sleep  on  the  ground.  The  nights  were 
then  cold,  with  considerable  snow  on  the  ground,  and 
for  the  want  of  covering  and  clothing  we  suffered 
extremely  with  the  cold.  That  night  was  the  com- 
mencement of  a  fit  of  sickness  from  which  I  have 
not  wholly  recovered  unto  this  day,  in  consequence 
of  my  exposure  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather. 
Our  provision  was  fresh  beef,  roasted  in  the  fire  on 
a  stick;  the  army  having  no  bread,  in  consequence 
of  the  want  of  mills  to  grind  the  grain.  In  the 
morning,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  we  were  forced  on  our 
journey,  and  were  exhibited  to  the  inhabitants  along 
the  road,  the  same  as  they  exhibit  a  caravan  of  ele- 
phants or  camels.  We  were  examined  from  head  to 
foot  by  men,  women,  and  children,  only  I  believe 
they  did  not  make  us  open  our  mouths  to  look  at  our 
teeth.  This  treatment  was  continued  incessantly, 
until  we  arrived  at  Independence,  in  Jackson  County. 
After  our  arrival  at  Independence,  we  were  driven 
all  through  the  town  for  inspection,  and  then  we 
were  ordered  into  an  old  log  house,  and  there  kept 
under  guard  as  usual,  until  supper,  which  was 
served  up  to  us,  as  we  sat  upon  the  floor,  or  on 
billets  of  wood,  and  we  were  compelled  to  stay  in 
that  house  all  that  night  and  the  next  day.  They 
continued  to  exhibit  us  to  the  public,  by  letting  the 
people  come  in  and  examine  us,  and  then  go  away 


300  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

and  give  place  for  others  alternately,  all  that  day 
and  the  next  night;  but  on  the  morning  of  the  fol- 
lowing day,  we  were  all  permitted  to  go  to  the  tavern 
to  eat  and  to  sleep,  but  afterwards  they  made  us 
pay  our  own  expenses  for  board,  lodging,  and  at- 
tendance, and  for  which  they  made  a  most  exorbi- 
tant charge.  We  remained  in  the  tavern  about  two 
days  and  two  nights,  when  an  officer  arrived  with 
authority  from  General  Clark  to  take  us  back  to 
Richmond,  Ray  County,  where  the  general  had 
arrived  with  his  army  to  await  our  arrival  there; 
but  on  the  morning  of  our  start  for  Richmond,  we 
were  informed  by  General  Wilson,  that  it  was  ex- 
pected by  the  soldiers  that  we  would  be  hung  up  by 
the  necks  on  the  road,  while  on  the  march  to  that 
place,  and  that  it  was  prevented  by  a  demand  made 
for  us  by  General  Clark,  who  had  the  command  in 
consequence  of  seniority,  and,  that  it  was  his  pre- 
rogative to  execute  us  himself,  and  he  should  give 
us  up  into  the  hands  of  the  officer,  who  would  take 
us  to  General  Clark,  and  he  might  do  with  us  as  he 
pleased.  During  our  stay  at  Independence,  the 
officers  informed  us  that  there  were  eight  or  ten 
horses  in  that  place  belonging  to  the  'Mormon'  peo- 
ple, which  had  been  stolen  by  the  soldiers,  and  that 
we  might  have  two  of  them  to  ride  upon,  if  we 
would  cause  them  to  be  sent  back  to  the  owners  after 
our  arrival  at  Richmond.  We  accepted  of  them,  and 
they  were  rode  to  Richmond,  and  the  owners  came 
there  and  got  them.  We  started  in  the  morning 
under  our  new  officer.  Colonel  (Sterling)  Price,  of 
Keytesville,  Chariton  County,  Missouri,  with  several 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


301 


other  men  to  guard  us  over.  We  arrived  there  on 
Friday  evening,  the  ninth  day  of  November,  and 
were  thrust  into  an  old  log  house,  with  a  strong 
guard  placed  over  us.  After  we  had  been  there  for 
the  space  of  half  an  hour,  there  came  in  a  man,  who 
was  said  to  have  some  notoriety  in  the  penitentiary, 
bringing  in  his  hands  a  quantity  of  chains  and  pad- 
locks. He  said  he  was  commanded  by  General  Clark 
to  put  us  in  chains.  Immediately  the  soldiers  rose 
up,  and  pointing  their  guns  at  us,  placed  their  thumb 
on  the  cock,  and  their  finger  on  the  trigger,  and  the 
State's  prison-keeper  went  to  work,  putting  a  chain 
around  the  leg  of  each  man,  and  fastening  it  on  with 
a  padlock,  until  we  were  all  chained  together,  seven 
of  us. 

"In  a  few  moments  came  in  General  Clark.  We 
requested  to  know  of  him  what  was  the  cause  of 
all  this  harsh  and  cruel  treatment.  He  refused  to 
give  us  any  information  at  that  time,  but  said  he 
would  in  a  few  days;  so  we  were  compelled  to  con- 
tinue in  that  situation — camping  on  the  floor,  all 
chained  together,  without  any  chance  or  means  to  be 
made  comfortable,  having  to  eat  our  victuals  as  they 
were  served  up  to  us,  using  our  fingers  and  teeth 
instead  of  knives  and  forks.  Whilst  we  were  in  this 
situation,  a  young  man,  by  the  name  of  Grant, 
brother-in-law  to  my  brother,  William  Smith,  came 
to  see  us,  and  put  up  at  the  tavern  where  General 
Clark  made  his  quarters.  He  happened  to  come  in 
to  see  General  Clark  make  choice  of  his  men  to  shoot 
us  on  Monday  morning,  the  twelfth  day  of  Novem- 
ber; he  saw  them  make  choice  of  their  rifles,  and 


302  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

load  them  with  two  balls  in  each ;  and  after  they  had 
prepared  their  guns,  General  Clark  saluted  them 
by  saying,  'Gentlemen,  you  shall  have  the  honor  of 
shooting  tlie  Mormon  leaders,  on  Monday  morning 
at  eight  o'clock!'  But  in  consequence  of  the  influ- 
ence of  our  friends,  the  heathen  general  was  intimi- 
dated, so  that  he  durst  not  carry  his  murderous 
design  into  execution,  and  sent  a  messenger  im- 
mediately to  Fort  Leavenworth  to  obtain  the  military 
code  of  laws.  After  the  messenger's  return,  the 
general  was  employed,  nearly  a  whole  week,  examin- 
ing the  laws,  so  Monday  passed  away  without  our 
being  shot.  However,  it  seemed  like  foolishness  to 
me,  for  so  great  a  man  as  General  Clark  pretended 
to  be,  should  have  to  search  the  military  law  to  find 
out  whether  preachers  of  the  gospel,  who  never  did 
military  duty,  could  be  subject  to  court-martial. 
However,  the  general  seemed  to  learn  that  fact  after 
searching  the  military  code,  and  came  into  the  old 
log  cabin,  where  we  were  under  guard  and  in  chains, 
and  told  us  he  had  concluded  to  deliver  us  over  to 
the  civil  authorities,  as  persons  guilty  of  treason, 
murder,  arson,  larceny,  theft,  and  stealing.  The 
poor,  deluded  general  did  not  know  the  difference 
between  theft,  larceny,  and  stealing.  Accordingly, 
we  were  handed  over  to  the  pretended  civil  authori- 
ties, and  the  next  morning  our  chains  were  taken  off, 
and  we  were  guarded  to  the  court-house,  where 
there  was  a  pretended  court  in  session;  Austin  A. 
King  being  the  judge,  and  Mr.  Birch,  the  district 
attorney,  the  two  extremely,  and  very  honorable 
gentlemen,  who  sat  on  the  court-martial  when  we 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


303 


were  sentenced  to  be  shot.  Witnesses  were  called 
up  and  sworn,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  if 
they  would  not  swear  to  the  things  they  were  told 
to  do,  they  were  threatened  with  instant  death;  and 
I  do  know,  positively,  that  the  evidence  given  in  by 
those  men,  whilst  under  duress,  was  false.  This 
state  of  things  was  continued  twelve  or  fourteen 
days,  and  after  that,  we  were  ordered  by  the  judge, 
to  introduce  some  rebutting  evidence,  saying,  if  we 
did  not  do  it,  we  would  be  thrust  into  prison.  I 
could  hardly  understand  what  the  judge  meant,  for 
I  considered  we  were  in  prison  already,  and  could 
not  think  of  anything  but  the  persecutions  of  the 
days  of  Nero,  knowing  that  it  was  a  religious  perse- 
cution, and  the  court  an  inquisition;  however,  we 
gave  him  the  names  of  forty  persons,  who  were 
acquainted  with  all  the  persecutions  and  sufferings 
of  the  people.  The  judge  made  out  a  subpoena,  and 
inserted  the  names  of  those  men,  and  caused  it  to 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Bogard,  the  notorious 
Methodist  minister,  and  he  took  fifty  armed  soldiers, 
and  started  for  Far  West.  I  saw  the  subpoena  given 
to  him  and  his  company,  when  they  started.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  days  they  returned  with  most  all 
those  forty  men,  whose  names  were  inserted  in  the 
subpoena,  and  thrust  them  into  jail,  and  we  were  not 
permitted  to  bring  one  of  them  before  the  court;  but 
the  judge  turned  upon  us,  with  an  air  of  indignation, 
and  said,  'Gentlemen,  you  must  get  your  witnesses, 
or  you  shall  be  committed  to  jail  immediately,  for 
we  are  not  going  to  hold  the  court  open,  on  expense, 
much  longer  for  you,  anyhow.'    We  felt  very  much 


304  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

distressed  and  oppressed  at  that  time.  Colonel 
Wight  said,  'What  shall  we  do?  Our  witnesses  are 
all  thrust  into  prison,  and  probably  will  be,  and  we 
have  no  power  to  do  anything,  of  course  we  must 
submit  to  this  tyranny  and  oppression;  we  can  not 
help  ourselves.'  Several  others  made  similar  ex- 
pressions, in  the  agony  of  their  souls,  but  my 
brother  Joseph  did  not  say  anything,  he  being  sick 
at  that  time  with  the  toothache,  and  ague,  in  his 
face,  in  consequence  of  a  severe  cold  brought  on  by 
being  exposed  to  the  severity  of  the  weather.  How- 
ever, it  was  considered  best  by  General  Doniphan 
and  Lawyer  Reese,  that  we  should  try  to  get  some 
witnesses,  before  the  pretended  court.  Accordingly, 
I  myself  gave  the  names  of  about  twenty  other 
persons;  the  judge  inserted  them  in  a  subpoena,  and 
caused  it  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Bogard  the 
Methodist  priest,  and  he  again  started  off  with  his 
fifty  soldiers,  to  take  those  men  prisoners,  as  he  had 
done  to  the  forty  others.  The  judge  sat  and 
laughed  at  the  good  opportunity  of  getting  names, 
that  they  might  the  more  easily  capture  them,  and 
so  bring  them  down  to  be  thrust  into  prison,  in 
order  to  prevent  us  from  getting  the  truth  before 
the  pretended  court,  of  v>'hich  himself  was  the  chief 
inquisitor  or  conspirator.  Bogard  returned  from 
his  second  expedition,  with  one  prisoner  only,  whom 
he  also  thrust  into  prison. 

"The  people  at  Far  West  had  learned  the  intrigue, 
and  had  left  the  State,  having  been  made  acquainted 
with  the  treatment  of  the  former  witnesses.  But 
we,  on  learning  that  we  could  not  obtain  witners  i, 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


305 


whilst  privately  consulting  with  each  other  what  we 
should  do,  discovered  a  Mr,  Allen,  standing  by  the 
window  on  the  outside  of  the  house.  We  beckoned 
to  him  as  though  we  would  have  him  come  in.  He 
immediately  came  in.  At  that  time  Judge  King 
retorted  upon  us  again,  saying,  'Gentlemen,  are  you 
not  going  to  introduce  some  witnesses?'  also,  say- 
ing it  was  the  last  day  he  should  hold  the  court  open 
for  us,  and  if  we  did  not  rebut  the  testimony  that 
had  been  given  against  us,  he  should  have  to  com- 
mit us  to  jail.  I  had  then  got  Mr.  Allen  into  the 
house,  and  before  the  court,  so  called.  I  told  the 
judge  we  had  one  witness,  if  he  would  be  so  good 
as  to  put  him  under  oath.  He  seemed  unwilling  to 
do  so,  but  after  a  few  moments'  consultation  the 
State's  attorney  arose  and  said,  he  should  object  to 
that  witness  being  sworn,  and,  that  he  should  object 
to  that  witness  giving  in  his  evidence  at  all ;  stating 
that  this  was  not  a  court  to  try  the  case,  but  only  a 
court  of  investigation  on  the  part  of  the  State. 
Upon  this,  General  Doniphan  arose,  and  said,  'He 
would  be  God  d — d,  if  the  witness  should  not  be 
sworn;  and  that  it  was  a  d — d  shame,  that  these 
defendants  should  be  treated  in  this  manner;  that 
they  could  not  be  permitted  to  get  one  witness  before 
the  court,  whilst  all  their  witnesses,  even  forty  at 
a  time,  have  been  taken  by  force  of  arms,  and  thrust 
into  the  bull  pen — in  order  to  prevent  them  from 
giving  their  testimony.'  After  Doniphan  sat  down, 
the  judge  permitted  the  witness  to  be  sworn,  and 
enter  upon  his  testimony.  But  so  soon  as  he  began 
to  speak,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Cook,  who  was  a 


306  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

brother-in-law  to  priest  Bogard,  the  Methodist,  and 
who  was  a  lieutenant,  and  whose  place  at  that  time 
was  to  superintend  the  guard,  stepped  in  before  the 
pretended  court,  and  took  him  by  tne  nape  of  nis 
neck,  and  jammed  his  head  down  under  the  pole  or 
log  of  wood  that  was  placed  up  around  the  place 
where  the  inquisition  was  sitting,  to  keep  the  by- 
standers from  intruding  upon  the  majesty  of  the 
inquisitors,  and  jammed  him  along  to  the  door,  and 
kicked  him  out  of  doors.  He  instantly  turned  to 
some  soldiers,  'Go  and  shoot  him,  d — n  him,  shoot 
him,  d — n  him.' 

"The  soldiers  ran  after  the  man  to  shoot  him — he 
fled  for  his  life,  and  with  great  difficulty  made  his 
escape.  The  pretended  court  immediately  arose, 
and  we  were  ordered  to  be  carried  to  Liberty,  Clay 
County,  and  there  to  be  thrust  into  jail.  We  en- 
deavored to  find  out  for  what  cause,  but  all  that  we 
could  learn  was,  because  we  were  'Mormons.'  The 
next  morning  a  large  wagon  drove  up  to  the  door, 
and  a  blacksmith  came  into  the  house  with  some 
chains  and  handcuffs.  He  said  his  orders  from  the 
judge  were  to  handcuff  us,  and  chain  us  together. 
He  informed  us  that  the  judge  had  made  out  a 
mittimus,  and  sentenced  us  to  jail  for  treason;  he 
also  said,  the  judge  had  done  this  that  we  might  not 
get  bail;  he  also  said  the  judge  stated  his  intention 
to  keep  us  in  jail,  until  all  the  'Mormons'  were 
driven  out  of  the  State;  he  also  said  that  the  judge 
had  further  stated,  that  if  he  let  us  out  before  the 
'Mormons'  had  left  the  State,  that  we  would  not  let 
them  leave,  and  there  would  be  another  d — d  fuss 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


307 


kicked  up.  I  also  heard  the  judge  say  myself,  whilst 
he  was  sitting  in  his  pretended  court,  that  there  was 
no  law  for  us,  nor  the  'Mormons'  in  the  state  of 
Missouri;  that  he  had  sworn  to  see  them  extermi- 
nated, and  to  see  the  governor's  order  executed  to 
the  very  letter,  and  that  he  would  do  so;  however, 
the  blacksmith  proceeded,  and  put  the  irons  upon  us, 
and  we  were  ordered  into  the  wagon,  and  were 
driven  off  for  Clay  County,  and  as  we  journeyed 
along  on  the  road,  we  were  exhibited  to  the  inhabit- 
ants. And  this  course  was  adopted  all  the  way, 
thus  making  a  public  exhibition  of  us,  until  we 
arrived  at  Liberty,  Clay  County.  There  we  were 
thrust  into  prison  again,  and  locked  up,  and  were 
held  there  in  close  confinement  for  the  space  of  six 
months,  and  our  place  of  lodging  was  the  square 
side  of  a  hewed  white  oak  log,  and  our  food  was  any- 
thing but  good  and  decent.  Poison  was  adminis- 
tered to  us  three  or  four  times;  the  effect  it  had 
upon  our  system,  was,  that  it  vomited  us  almost  to 
death,  and  then  we  would  lay  some  two  or  three 
days  in  a  torpid,  stupid  state,  not  even  caring  or 
wishing  for  life.  The  poison  was  administered  in 
too  large  doses,  or  it  would  inevitably  have  proved 
fatal,  had  not  the  power  of  Jehovah  interposed  on 
our  behalf,  to  save  us  from  their  wicked  purpose. 
We  were  also  subjected  to  the  necessity  of  eating 
human  flesh  for  the  space  of  five  days,  or  go  with- 
out food,  except  a  little  coffee,  or  a  little  corn  bread 
— the  latter  I  chose  in  preference  to  the  former. 
We  none  of  us  partook  of  the  flesh,  except  Lyman 
Wight.    We  also  heard  the  guard  which  was  placed 


308  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

over  us,  making  sport  of  us  saying,  that  they  had 
fed  us  upon  'Mormon  beef.'  I  have  described  the 
appearance  of  this  flesh  to  several  experienced 
physicians,  and  they  have  decided  that  it  was  human 
flesh.  We  learned  afterwards,  by  one  of  the  guard, 
that  it  was  supposed  that  that  act  of  savage  canni- 
balism, in  feeding  us  with  human  flesh,  would  be 
considered  a  popular  deed  of  notoriety,  but  the  peo- 
ple, on  learning  that  it  would  not  take,  tried  to  keep 
it  secret ;  but  the  fact  was  noised  abroad  before  they 
took  that  precaution.  Whilst  we  were  incarcerated 
in  prison,  we  petitioned  the  supreme  court  of  the 
state  of  Missouri,  for  Jiabeas  corpus,  twice ;  but  were 
refused  both  times,  by  John  Reynolds,  who  is  now  the 
governor  of  that  State.  We  also  petitioned  one  of 
the  county  judges  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  which 
was  granted  in  about  three  weeks  afterwards,  but 
were  not  permitted  to  have  any  trial — we  were  only 
taken  out  of  jail,  and  kept  out  for  a  few  hours,  and 
then  remanded  back  again.  In  the  course  of  three 
or  four  days  after  that  time.  Judge  Turnham  came 
into  the  jail  in  the  evening,  and  said  he  had  per- 
mitted Mr.  Rigdon  to  get  bail,  but  said  he  had  to 
do  it  in  the  night,  and  he  had  also  to  get  away  in 
the  night,  and  unknown  to  any  of  the  citizens,  or 
they  would  kill  him,  for  they  had  sworn  to  kill  him 
if  they  could  find  him.  And  as  for  the  rest  of  us, 
he  dared  not  let  us  go,  for  fear  of  his  own  life,  as 
well  as  ours.  He  said  it  was  d — d  hard  to  be 
confined  under  such  circumstances;  for  he  knew  Wc 
were  innocent  men!  and  he  said  the  people  also 
knew  it;  and  that  it  was  only  a  persecution  and 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


309 


treachery,  and  the  scenes  of  Jackson  County  acted 
over  again,  for  fear  that  we  would  become  too 
numerous  in  that  upper  country.  He  said  the  plan 
was  concocted  from  the  governor,  down  to  the  lowest 
judge;  and,  that  that  Baptist  priest,  Riley,  was 
riding  into  town  every  day  to  watch  the  people, 
stirring  up  the  minds  of  the  people  against  us  all 
he  could,  exciting  them,  and  stirring  up  their  reli- 
gious prejudices  against  us,  for  fear  they  would  let 
us  go.  Mr.  Rigdon,  however,  got  bail,  and  made  his 
escape  to  Illinois.  The  jailor,  Samuel  Tillery,  Esq., 
told  us  also,  that  the  whole  plan  was  concocted  by 
the  governor,  down  to  the  lowest  judge,  in  that 
upper  country,  early  in  the  previous  spring,  and  that 
the  plan  was  more  fully  carried  out  at  the  time  that 
General  Atchison  went  down  to  Jefferson  City  with 
Generals  Wilson,  Lucas,  and  Gillum,  the  self-styled 
'Delaware  Chief,'  This  was  some  time  in  the 
month  of  September,  when  the  mob  were  collected 
at  De  Witt,  in  Carroll  County.  He  also  told  us  that 
the  governor  was  now  ashamed  enough  of  the  whole 
transaction,  and  would  be  glad  to  set  us  at  liberty 
if  he  dared  to  do  it;  but,  said  he,  'You  need  not  be 
concerned,  for  the  governor  has  laid  a  plan  for  your 
release.'  He  also  said  that  Esquire  Birch,  the 
State's  attorney,  was  appointed  to  be  circuit  judge, 
on  the  circuit  passing  through  Daviess  County,  and 
that  he  (Birch)  was  instructed  to  fix  the  papers,  so 
that  we  would  be  sure  to  be  clear  of  any  incum- 
brance in  a  very  short  time. 

"Some  time  in  April  we  were  taken  to  Daviess 
County,  as  they  said,  to  have  a  trial;  but  when  we 


310  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

arrived  at  that  place,  instead  of  finding  a  court  or 
jury,  we  found  another  inquisition;  and  Birch,  who 
was  the  district  attorney — the  same  man  who  was 
one  of  the  court-martial  when  we  were  sentenced 
to  death — was  now  the  circuit  judge  of  that  pre- 
tended court,  and  the  grand  jury  that  was  im- 
paneled were  all  at  the  massacre  at  Haun's  Mill, 
and  lively  actors  in  that  awful,  solemn,  disgraceful, 
cool-blooded  murder ;  and  all  the  pretense  they  made 
of  excuse  was,  that  they  had  done  it,  because  the 
governor  ordered  them  to  do  it.  The  same  jury  sat 
as  a  jury  in  the  daytime,  and  were  placed  over  us 
as  a  guard  in  the  night  time;  they  tantalized  and 
boasted  over  us  of  their  achievements  at  Haun's  Mill 
and  other  places,  telling  us  how  many  houses  they 
had  burned,  and  how  many  sheep,  cattle,  and  hogs 
they  had  driven  off.  These  fiends  of  the  lower 
region  boasted  of  these  acts  of  barbarity,  and  tan- 
talized our  feelings  with  them  for  ten  days.  We 
had  heard  of  these  acts  of  cruelty  previous  to  this 
time,  but  were  slow  to  believe  that  such  acts  of 
cruelty  had  been  perpetrated.  The  lady  who  was 
the  subject  of  their  brutality  did  not  recover  her 
health,  to  be  able  to  help  herself,  for  more  than  three 
months  afterwards.  This  grand  jury  constantly 
celebrated  their  achievements  with  grog  and  glass  in 
hand,  like  the  Indian  warriors  at  their  dances,  sing- 
ing, and  telling  each  other  of  their  exploits,  in  mur- 
dering the  'Mormons,'  in  plundering  their  houses, 
and  carrying  off  their  property.  At  the  end  of  every 
song,  they  would  bring  in  the  chorus,  'God  d — n  God, 
God  d — n  Jesus  Christ,  God  d — n  the  Presbyterians, 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


311 


God  d — n  the  Baptists,  God  d — n  the  Methodists!' 
reiterating  one  sect  after  another  in  the  same  man- 
ner, until  they  came  to  the  'Mormons:'  to  them  it 
was,  'God  d — n  the  God  d — n  Mormons!  we  have 
sent  them  to  hell.'  Then  they  would  slap  their 
hands  and  shout,  'Hosannah,  hosannah,  glory  to 
God!'  and  fall  down  on  their  backs,  and  kick  with 
their  feet  a  few  moments ;  then  they  would  pretend 
to  have  swooned  away  in  a  glorious  trance,  in  order 
to  imitate  some  of  the  transactions  at  camp-meet- 
ings. Then  they  would  pretend  to  come  out  of  their 
trance,  and  would  shout,  and  again  slap  their  hands, 
and  jump  up,  while  one  would  take  a  bottle  of  whisky 
and  a  tumbler,  and  turn  it  out  full  of  whisky,  and 
pour  it  down  each  other's  necks,  crying,  'D — n  it, 
take  it,  you  must  take  it;'  and  if  any  one  refused 
to  drink  the  whisky,  others  would  clinch  him,  while 
another  poured  it  down  his  neck,  and  what  did  not 
go  down  the  inside  went  down  the  outside.  This  is 
a  part  of  the  farce  acted  out  by  the  grand  jury  of 
Daviess  County,  while  they  stood  over  us  as  guards 
for  ten  nights  successively.  And  all  this  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  great  Judge  Birch!  who  had  previously 
said  in  our  hearing  that  there  was  no  law  for  'Mor- 
mons' in  the  state  of  Missouri.  His  brother  was 
then  acting  as  district  attorney  in  that  circuit,  and, 
if  anything,  was  a  greater  cannibal  than  the  judge. 
After  all  these  ten  days  of  drunkenness,  we  were 
informed  that  we  were  indicted  for  treason,  murder, 
arson,  larceny,  theft,  and  stealing.  We  asked  for  a 
change  of  venue  from  that  county  to  Marion  County, 
but  they  would  not  grant  it;  but  they  gave  us  a 


312  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

change  of  venue  from  Daviess  to  Boone  County,  and 
a  mittimus  was  made  out  by  the  pretended  Judge 
Birch,  without  date,  name,  or  place.  They  fitted  us 
out  with  a  two-horse  wagon  and  horses,  and  four 
men,  besides  the  sheriff,  to  be  our  guard.  There 
were  five  of  us.  We  started  from  Gallatin,  the  sun 
about  two  hours  high  in  the  afternoon,  and  went  as 
far  as  Diahman  that  evening,  and  stayed  till  morn- 
ing. There  we  bought  two  horses  of  the  guard,  and 
paid  for  one  of  them  in  our  clothing  which  we  had 
with  us,  and  for  the  other  we  gave  our  note.  We 
went  down  that  day  as  far  as  Judge  Morin's,  a  dis- 
tance of  some  four  or  five  miles.  There  we  stayed 
until  the  morning,  when  we  started  on  our  journey 
to  Boone  County,  and  traveled  on  the  road  about 
twenty  miles  distance.  There  we  bought  a  jug  of 
whisky,  with  which  we  treated  the  company,  and 
while  there  the  sheriff  showed  us  the  mittimus  before 
referred  to,  without  date  or  signature,  and  said  that 
Judge  Birch  told  him  never  to  carry  us  to  Boone 
County,  and  never  to  show  the  mittimus,  'and,'  said 
he,  'I  shall  take  a  good  drink  of  grog,  and  go  to  bed, 
you  may  do  as  you  have  a  mind  to.'  Three  others 
of  the  guard  drank  pretty  freely  of  whisky,  sweet- 
ened with  honey;  they  also  went  to  bed,  and  were 
soon  asleep,  and  the  other  guard  went  along  with 
us  and  helped  to  saddle  the  horses.  Two  of  us 
mounted  the  horses,  and  the  other  three  started  on 
foot,  and  we  took  our  change  of  venue  for  the  state 
of  Illinois,  and,  in  the  course  of  nine  or  ten  days,  we 
arrived  in  Quincy,  Adams  County,  [Illinois,]  where 
we  found  our  families  in  a  state  of  poverty,  although 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


313 


in  good  health,  they  having  been  driven  out  of  the 
State  previously,  by  the  murderous  militia,  under 
the  exterminating  order  of  the  executive  of  Missouri. 
And  now  the  people  of  that  State,  a  portion  of  them, 
would  be  glad  to  make  the  people  of  this  State 
believe  that  my  brother  Joseph  has  committed 
treason,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  their  mur- 
derous and  hellish  persecution ;  and  they  seem  to  be 
unrelenting,  and  thirsting  f  or  the  blood  of  innocence, 
for  I  do  know,  most  positively,  that  my  brother 
Joseph  had  not  committed  treason,  nor  violated  one 
solitary  item  of  law  or  rule  in  the  state  of  Missouri. 

"But  I  do  know  that  the  'Mormon'  people,  en 
masse,  were  driven  out  of  that  State  after  being 
robbed  of  all  they  had,  and  they  barely  escaped  with 
their  lives,  as  w^ell  as  my  brother  Joseph,  who  barely 
escaped  with  his  life.  His  family  also  were  robbed 
of  all  they  had,  and  barely  escaped  with  the  skin 
of  their  teeth,  and  all  of  this  in  consequence  of  the 
exterminating  order  of  Governor  Boggs,  the  same 
being  confirmed  by  the  legislature  of  that  State. 
And  I  do  know,  so  does  this  court,  and  every  rational 
man  who  is  acquainted  with  the  circumstances,  and 
every  man  who  shall  hereafter  become  acquainted 
with  the  particulars  thereof  will  know,  that  Gov- 
ernor Boggs,  and  Generals  Clark,  Lucas,  Wilson,  and 
Gillum,  also  Austin  A.  King,  have  committed  treason 
upon  the  citizens  of  Missouri,  and  did  violate  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  also  the  con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  state  of  Missouri,  and  did 
exile  and  expel,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  some 
twelve  or  fourteen  thousand  inhabitants  from  the 


314  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

State;  and  did  murder  some  three  or  four  hundreds 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  in  cold  blood,  and  in 
the  most  horrid  and  cruel  manner  possible ;  and  the 
whole  of  it  was  caused  by  religious  big-otry  and  per- 
secution, because  the  'Mormons'  dared  to  worship 
almighty  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
consciences,  and  agreeable  to  his  divine  will,  as 
revealed  in  the  Scriptures  of  eternal  truth,  and  had 
turned  away  from  following  the  vain  traditions  of 
their  fathers,  and  would  not  worship  according  to 
the  dogmas  and  commandments  of  those  men  who 
preach  for  hire  and  divine  for  money,  and  teach  for 
doctrine  the  precepts  of  men,  expecting  that  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  would  have  pro- 
tected them  therein.  But,  notwithstanding  the  'Mor- 
mon' people  had  purchased  upwards  of  hvo  hundred 
thousand  dollars'  ivorth  of  land,  most  of  which  was 
entered  and  paid  for  at  the  land-office  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  state  of  Missouri;  and  although  the 
President  of  the  United  States  has  been  made 
acquainted  with  these  facts,  and  the  particulars  of 
our  persecutions  and  oppressions,  by  petition  to  him 
and  to  Congress,  yet  they  have  not  even  attempted 
to  restore  the  'Mormons'  to  their  rights,  or  given 
any  assurance  that  we  may  hereafter  expect  redress 
from  them.  And  I  do  also  know  most  positively  and 
assuredly,  that  my  brother,  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  has 
not  been  in  the  state  of  Missouri  since  the  spring  of 
the  year  1839.  And  further  this  deponent  saith 
not.^  "Hyrum  Smith."- 

Ttmes  and  Seasons,  volume  4,  page  246. 

'In  justice  to  the  several  survivors  of  Elder  George  M. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


315 


CHAPTER  L. 
REMOVAL  OF  THE  SMITH  FAMILY  TO  ILLINOIS. 

At  the  time  when  Joseph  went  into  the  enemy's 
camp,  Mr.  Smith  and  myself  stood  in  the  door  of 
the  house  in  which  we  were  then  living,  and  could 
distinctly  hear  their  horrid  yellings.  Not  knowing 
the  cause,  we  supposed  they  were  murdering  him. 
Soon  after  the  screaming  commenced,  five  or  six 
guns  were  discharged.  At  this,  Mr.  Smith,  folding 
his  arms  tightly  across  his  heart,  cried  out,  "Oh,  my 
God !  my  God !  they  have  killed  my  son !  they  have 
murdered  him!  and  I  must  die,  for  I  can  not  live 
without  him !" 

I  had  no  word  of  consolation  to  give  him,  for  my 
heart  was  broken  within  me — my  agony  was  unut- 
terable.   I  assisted  him  to  the  bed,  and  he  fell  back 

Hinkle,  who  are  in  full  faith  of  the  gospel,  and  in  the  church, 
we  should  state  that  during  the  later  years  of  that  elder's  life, 
he  labored  diligently  to  spread  the  truth,  and  a  num'ber  of 
those  who  were  by  his  labors  convinced  of  the  truth,  are  with 
the  church.  Colonel  Hinkle  himself  stated  to  several,  that 
the  part  performed  by  him,  by  which  it  was  supposed  that 
he  betrayed  his  brethren,  was  misunderstood,  and  a  sufficient 
opportunity  to  explain  and  exculpate  himself  was  not  afforded 
him.  That  he  retained  his  faith  and  an  affection  for  the 
martyrs  until  his  death,  is  certain.' 

'The  defense  of  Colonel  Hinkle  was  published  in  Messenger 
and  Advocate,  the  organ  of  Sidney  Rigdon,  August  1,  1845, 
in  which  he  claims  that  the  terms  of  surrender  were  laid 
before  Joseph  Smith  and  he  said,  "I  will  go,"  and  his  fellow 
prisoners  voluntarily  accompanied  him.  He  also  claims  that 
W.  W.  Phelps,  John  Corrill,  and  A.  Morrison  were  as  much 
implicated  as  was  he.  H.  C.  S. 


316  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

upon  it  as  helpless  as  a  child,  for  he  had  not  strength 
to  stand  upon  his  feet.  The  shrieking  continued; 
no  tongue  can  describe  the  sound  which  was  con- 
veyed to  our  ears;  no  heart  can  imagine  the  sen- 
sations of  our  breasts,  as  we  listened  to  those  awful 
screams.  Had  the  army  been  composed  of  so  many 
bloodhounds,  wolves,  and  panthers,  they  could  not 
have  made  a  sound  more  terrible. 

My  husband  was  immediately  taken  sick,  and 
never  afterwards  entirely  recovered,  yet  he  lived 
about  two  years,  and  was  occasionally  quite  comfort- 
able, and  able  to  attend  meetings. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  testimony  of  Hyrum,  that 
he  was  taken  by  the  oflEicers  the  next  day  after  he 
arrived  at  the  camp,  and  that  he  was  seated  with 
Joseph  on  a  log,  which  was  placed  there  for  the  pur- 
pose before  he  was  taken.  The  soldiers  crowded 
around  them,  and  swearing  that  they  would  shoot 
them,  snapped  several  guns  at  them,  before  any  one 
interfered  for  their  protection.  At  length  Captain 
Martin  ordered  his  men  to  surround  the  prisoners 
with  drawn  swords  and  loaded  muskets,  "And  now," 
continued  he,  (drawing  his  own  sword,)  "I  swear 
by  God,  that  if  any  man  attempts  to  harm  a  hair  of 
their  heads,  I'll  cut  his  d — d  head  off  the  minute  he 
does  it.  Do  you  (speaking  to  his  men)  protect 
them,  and  if  any  man  attempts  to  lift  his  gun  to 
his  face  to  shoot  those  prisoners,  cut  him  down 
instantly,  for  they  are  innocent  men,  I  know  they 
are  innocent — look  at  them,  they  show  it  plainly  in 
their  very  countenances." 

This  man  was  but  a  captain,  yet  he  assumed  the 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


317 


responsibility  of  protecting  my  sons.  And  for  two 
nights  and  a  day,  he  stood  constantly  on  guard, 
keeping  his  men  to  their  posts ;  he  neither  slept  him- 
self, nor  suffered  his  company  to  rest,  until  Joseph 
and  Hyrum  were  removed  from  the  place. 

When  they  were  about  starting  from  Far  West, 
a  messenger  came  and  told  us,  that  if  we  ever  would 
see  our  sons  alive,  we  must  go  immediately  to  them, 
for  they  were  in  a  wagon  that  would  start  in  a  few 
minutes  for  Independence,  and  in  all  probability  they 
would  never  return  alive.  Receiving  this  intima- 
tion, Lucy  and  myself  set  out  directly  for  the  place. 
On  coming  within  about  four  hundred  yards  of  the 
wagon,  we  were  compelled  to  stop,  for  we  could 
press  no  further  through  the  crowd.  I  therefore 
appealed  to  those  around  me,  exclaiming,  "I  am  the 
mother  of  the  prophet — is  there  not  a  gentleman 
here,  who  will  assist  me  to  that  wagon,  that  I  may 
take  a  last  look  at  my  children,  and  speak  to  them 
once  more  before  I  die?"  Upon  this,  one  individual 
volunteered  to  make  a  pathway  through  the  army, 
and  we  passed  on,  threatened  with  death  at  every 
step,  till  at  length  we  arrived  at  the  wagon.  The 
man  who  led  us  through  the  crowd  spoke  to  Hyrum, 
who  was  sitting  in  front,  and,  telling  him  that  his 
mother  had  come  to  see  him,  requested  that  he  should 
reach  his  hand  to  me.  He  did  so,  but  I  was  not 
allowed  to  see  him;  the  cover  was  of  strong  cloth, 
and  nailed  down  so  close,  that  he  could  barely  get 
his  hand  through.  We  had  merely  shaken  hands 
with  him,  when  we  were  ordered  away  by  the  mob, 
who  forbade  any  conversation  between  us,  and, 


318  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

threatening  to  shoot  us,  they  ordered  the  teamster 
to  drive  over  us.  Our  friend  then  conducted  us  to 
the  back  part  of  the  wagon,  where  Joseph  sat,  and 
said,  "Mr.  Smith,  your  mother  and  sister  are  here, 
and  wish  to  shake  hands  with  you."  Joseph  crowded 
his  hand  through  between  the  cover  and  the  wagon, 
and  we  caught  hold  of  it ;  but  he  spoke  not  to  either 
of  us,  until  I  said,  "Joseph,  do  speak  to  your  poor 
mother  once  more — I  can  not  bear  to  go  till  I  hear 
your  voice."  "God  bless  you,  mother!"  he  sobbed 
out.  Then  a  cry  was  raised,  and  the  wagon  dashed 
off,  tearing  him  from  us  just  as  Lucy  was  pressing 
his  hand  to  her  lips,  to  bestow  upon  it  a  sister's  last 
kiss — for  he  was  then  sentenced  to  be  shot. 

For  some  time  our  house  was  filled  with  mourning, 
lamentation,  and  woe ;  but,  in  the  midst  -of  my  grief, 
I  found  consolation  that  surpassed  all  earthly  com- 
fort. I  was  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
received  the  following  by  the  gift  of  prophecy :  "Let 
your  heart  be  comforted  concerning  your  children; 
they  shall  not  be  harmed  by  their  enemies;  and,  in 
less  than  four  years,  Joseph  shall  speak  before  the 
judges  and  great  men  of  the  land,  for  his  voice  shall 
be  heard  in  their  councils.  And  in  five  years  from 
this  time  he  will  have  power  over  all  his  enemies." 
This  relieved  my  mind,  and  I  was  prepared  to  com- 
fort my  children.  I  told  them  what  had  been 
revealed  to  me,  which  greatly  consoled  them. 

As  soon  as  William  was  able  to  stir  about  a  little 
he  besought  his  father  to  move  to  Illinois,  but  Mr. 
Smith  would  not  consent  to  this,  for  he  was  in  hopes 
that  our  sons  would  be  liberated,  and  peace  again 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


319 


be  restored.  William  continued  to  expostulate  with 
him,  but  to  no  effect,  as  Mr.  Smith  declared  that  he 
would  not  leave  Far  West,  except  by  revelation. 
William  said  that  he  had  revelation;  that  he  him- 
self knew  that  we  would  have  to  leave  Far  West. 
Mr.  Smith  finally  said  that  the  family  might  get 
ready  to  move,  and  then  if  we  were  obliged  to  go, 
there  would  be  nothing  to  hinder  us. 

Our  business  in  Far  West  had  been  trading  in 
corn  and  wheat,  as  well  as  keeping  a  boarding-house. 
When  the  mob  came  in,  we  had  considerable  grain  on 
hand,  but  very  little  flour  or  meal,  therefore  we 
sent  a  man  who  was  living  with  us  to  mill  with 
fourteen  sacks  of  grain;  but  the  miller  considered 
it  unsafe  to  allow  the  brethren  to  remain  about  his 
premises,  as  the  mob  was  near  at  hand,  and  he  was 
afraid  they  would  burn  his  buildings.  Consequently, 
the  young  man  returned  without  his  grain,  and,  for 
breadstuff,  we  were  for  a  long  time  obliged  to  pound 
corn  in  a  samp-mortar.  Many  subsisted  altogether 
upon  parched  corn  for  some  length  of  time. 

The  brethren  were  all  driven  in  from  the  country. 
There  was  an  acre  of  ground  in  front  of  our  house, 
completely  covered  with  beds,  lying  in  the  open  sun, 
where  families  were  compelled  to  sleep,  exposed  to 
all  kinds  of  weather;  these  were  the  last  who  came 
into  the  city,  and,  as  the  houses  were  all  full,  they 
could  not  find  a  shelter.  It  was  enough  to  make  the 
heart  ache  to  see  the  children,  sick  with  colds,  and 
crying  around  their  mothers  for  food,  whilst  their 
parents  were  destitute  of  the  means  of  making  them 
comfortable. 


320  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

It  may  be  said  that,  if  Joseph  Smith  had  been  a 
prophet,  he  would  have  foreseen  the  evil,  and  pro- 
vided against  it.  To  this  I  reply,  he  did  all  that 
was  in  his  power  to  prevail  upon  his  brethren  to 
move  into  Far  West,  before  the  difficulty  commenced, 
and  at  a  meeting,  three  weeks  previous,  he  urged  the 
brethren  to  make  all  possible  haste  in  moving  both 
their  houses  and  their  provisions  into  the  city.  But 
this  counsel  appeared  to  them  unreasonable  and 
inconsistent,  therefore  they  did  not  heed  it.  If  the 
brethren  at  Haun's  Mill  had  hearkened  to  counsel,  it 
would,  without  doubt,  have  saved  their  lives;  but, 
as  the  consequences  of  their  negligence  are  already 
published,  and  as  my  mind  is  loath  to  dwell  upon 
these  days  of  sorrow,  I  shall  only  give  those  facts 
which  have  not  been  published. 

While  the  mob  was  in  the  city,  William  went  out 
one  day  to  feed  his  horse,  but  the  horse  was  gone. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  a  soldier,  who  had 
been  absent  with  a  dispatch,  rode  him  into  the  yard. 
William  took  the  horse  by  the  bridle,  and  ordered 
the  soldier  to  dismount,  which  he  did,  and  left  the 
horse  in  William's  hands  again. 

Soon  after  this  the  brethren  were  compelled  to 
lay  down  their  arms,  and  sign  away  their  property. 
This  was  done  quite  near  our  house,  so  that  I  could 
distinctly  hear  General  Clark's  notable  speech  on 
this  occasion;  and,  without  any  great  degree  of 
alarm,  I  heard  him  declare,  concerning  Joseph  and 
Hyrum,  that  "their  die  was  cast,  their  doom  was 
fixed,  and  their  fate  was  sealed." 

Not  long  after  Hyrum  left  home,  Joseph,  his 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


321 


youngest  son,  was  born.  This  was  Mary's  first 
child.  She  never  saw  her  husband  but  once  after 
she  became  a  mother,  before  leaving  the  State.  She 
suffered  beyond  description  in  her  sickness,  but, 
in  all  her  afflictions,  her  sister,  Mrs.  Thompson, 
stood  by  her  to  nurse  and  comfort  her,  and,  by  the 
best  of  attention,  she  gained  sufficient  strength  to 
accompany  Emma  to  the  prison  once  before  she  left 
the  State. 

At  this  time,  my  husband  sent  to  Joseph  to  know 
if  it  was  the  will  of  the  Lord  that  we  should  leave 
the  State.  Whereupon  Joseph  sent  him  a  revelation 
which  he  had  received  while  in  prison,  which  satis- 
fied my  husband's  mind,  and  he  was  willing  to 
remove  to  Illinois  as  soon  as  possible.  After  this, 
William  took  his  own  family,  without  further  delay, 
to  Quincy,  thence  to  Plymouth,  v.'here  he  settled 
himself,  and  afterwards  sent  back  the  team  for  his 
father's  family. 

Just  as  we  got  our  goods  into  the  wagon,  a  man 
came  to  us  and  said,  that  Sidney  Rigdon's  family 
were  ready  to  start,  and  must  have  the  wagon  im- 
mediately. Accordingly,  our  goods  were  taken  out, 
and  we  were  compelled  to  wait  until  the  team  could 
come  after  us  again.  We  put  our  goods  into  the 
wagon  a  second  time,  but  the  wagon  was  wanted  for 
Emma  and  her  family,  so  our  goods  were  again 
taken  out.  However,  we  succeeded  after  a  long 
time,  in  getting  one  single  wagon  to  convey  beds, 
clothing,  and  provisions  for  our  family,  Salisbury's 
family,  and  Mr.  McCleary's  family,  besides  consid- 
erable luggage  for  Don  Carlos,  who,  with  his  family 


322  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

and  the  remainder  of  his  baggage,  was  crowded  into 
a  buggy/  and  went  in  the  same  company  with  us. 

For  the  want  of  teams,  we  were  compelled  to  leave 
most  of  our  provisions  and  furniture.  Another 
inconvenience  which  we  suffered  was,  the  horses 
were  windbroken,  consequently  we  were  obliged  to 
walk  much  of  the  way,  especially  up  all  the  hills, 
which  was  very  tiresome  work. 

The  first  day  we  arrived  at  a  place  called  Tinney's 
Grove,  where  we  lodged  over  night  in  an  old  log 
house,  which  was  very  uncomfortable.  Half  of  the 
succeeding  day  I  traveled  on  foot.  That  night  we 
stayed  at  the  house  of  one  Mr.  Thomas,  who  was 
then  a  member  of  the  church.  On  the  third  day,  in 
the  afternoon,  it  began  to  rain.  At  night  we  stopped 
at  a  house  and  asked  permission  to  stay  tjll  morn- 
ing. The  man  to  whom  we  applied  showed  us  a 
miserable  outhouse,  which  was  filthy  enough  to 
sicken  the  stomach,  and  told  us  if  we  would  clean 
this  place,  and  haul  our  own  wood  and  water,  we 
might  lodge  there.  To  this  we  agreed,  and  with 
much  trouble,  we  succeeded  in  making  a  place  for 
our  beds.  For  the  use  of  this  loathsome  hovel,  he 
charged  us  seventy-five  cents.  We  traveled  all  the 
next  day  in  a  pouring  rain.  We  asked  for  shelter 
at  many  places,  but  were  refused.  At  last  we  came 
to  a  place  quite  like  the  one  where  we  spent  the 
previous  night.  Here  we  spent  the  night  without 
fire.    On  the  fifth  day,  just  before  arriving  at  Pal- 

'A  light  vehicle,  drawn  by  one  horse. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


323 


myra,  in  Missouri,  Don  Carlos  called  to  Mr.  Smith, 
and  said,  "Father,  this  exposure  is  too  bad,  and  I 
will  not  bear  it  any  longer;  the  first  place  that  I 
come  to  that  looks  comfortable,  I  shall  drive  up  and 
go  into  the  house,  and  do  you  follow  me." 

We  soon  came  to  a  farmhouse,  surrounded  with 
every  appearance  of  plenty.  The  house  was  but  a 
short  distance  from  the  road,  having  in  front  of 
it  a  large  gate.  Through  this  Don  Carlos  drove, 
without  hesitating  to  ask  the  privilege,  and,  after 
assisting  us  through,  he  started  to  the  house,  and, 
meeting  the  landlord,  he  said,  "I  do  not  know  but 
that  I  am  trespassing,  but  I  have  with  me  an  aged 
father,  who  is  sick,  besides  my  mother,  and  a  num- 
ber of  women,  with  small  children.  We  have  trav- 
eled two  days  and  a  half  in  this  rain,  and  if  we  are 
compelled  to  go  much  further,  we  shall  all  of  us  die. 
If  you  will  allow  us  to  stay  with  you  over  night,  we 
will  pay  you  almost  any  price  for  our  accommoda- 
tion." 

"Why,  what  do  you  mean  sir?"  said  the  gentle- 
man, "Do  you  not  consider  us  human  beings?  Do 
you  think  that  we  would  turn  anything  that  is  flesh 
and  blood  from  our  door,  in  such  a  time  as  this! 
Drive  up  to  the  house  and  help  your  wife  and  chil- 
dren out :  I'll  attend  to  your  father  and  mother  and 
the  rest  of  them."  The  landlord  then  assisted  Mr. 
Smith  and  myself  into  the  room  in  which  his  lady 
was  sitting,  but  as  she  was  rather  ill,  and  he  feared 
that  the  dampness  of  our  clothing  would  cause  her 
to  take  cold,  he  ordered  a  black  servant  to  make  a 
fire  for  her  in  another  room.    He  then  assisted  each 


324  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

of  our  family  into  the  bouse,  and  hung  up  our  cloaks 
and  shawls  to  dry. 

At  this  house  we  had  everything  which  could  con- 
duce to  comfort.  The  gentleman,  who  was  Esquire 
Mann,  brought  us  milk  for  our  children,  hauled  us 
water  to  wash  with,  and  furnished  us  good  beds  to 
sleep  in. 

In  the  evening,  he  remarked  that  he  was  sent  by 
his  county,  the  year  before,  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, where  he  met  one  Mr.  Carroll,  who  was 
sent  from  the  county  in  which  the  "Mormons"  re- 
sided; "and  if  ever,"  said  Esquire  Mann,  "I  felt 
like  fighting  any  man,  it  was  him.  He  never  once 
raised  his  voice,  nor  even  his  hand,  in  behalf  of  that 
abused  people,  once  while  the  House  was  in  session. 
I  was  never  a  member  of  the  House  before,  and  had 
not  sufficient  confidence  to  take  a  stand  upon  the 
floor  in  their  behalf,  as  I  should  have  done,  had  I 
been  a  man  of  a  little  more  experience." 

After  spending  the  night  with  this  good  man,  we 
proceeded  on  our  journey,  although  it  continued 
raining,  for  we  were  obliged  to  travel  through  mud 
and  rain  to  avoid  being  detained  by  high  water. 
When  we  came  within  six  miles  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  the  weather  grew  colder,  and,  in  the  place  of 
rain,  we  had  snow  and  hail ;  and  the  ground  between 
us  and  the  river  was  so  low  and  swampy,  that  a 
person  on  foot  would  sink  in  over  his  ankles  at  every 
step,  yet  we  were  all  of  us  forced  to  walk,  or  rather 
wade,  the  whole  six  miles. 

On  reaching  the  Mississippi,  we  found  that  we 
could  not  cross  that  night,  nor  yet  find  a  shelter, 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


325 


for  many  Saints  were  there  before  us,  waiting  to  go 
over  into  Quincy.  The  snow  was  now  six  inches 
deep,  and  still  falling.  We  made  our  beds  upon  it. 
and  went  to  rest  with  what  comfort  we  might  under 
such  circumstances.  The  next  morning  our  beds 
were  covered  with  snow,  and  much  of  the  bedding 
under  which  we  lay  was  frozen.  We  arose  and  tried 
to  light  a  fire,  but,  finding  it  impossible,  we  resigned 
ourselves  to  our  comfortless  situation. 

Soon  after  this,  Samuel  came  over  from  Quincy, 
and  he,  with  the  assistance  of  Seymour  Brunson, 
obtained  permission  of  the  ferryman  for  us  to  cross 
that  day.  About  sunset,  we  landed  in  Quincy.  Here 
Samuel  had  hired  a  house,  and  we  moved  into  it, 
with  four  other  families. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

JOSEPH  AND  HYRUM  ESCAPE  FROM  THEIR  PERSECU- 
TORS, AND  RETURN  TO  THEIR  FAMILIES. 

We  spent  the  evening  after  we  arrived  in  Quincy 
in  relating  our  adventures  and  escapes,  while  mak- 
ing our  exit  from  the  land  of  Missouri,  and  the 
following  circumstance,  during  our  evening's  con- 
versation, was  related  by  Samuel,  who,  in  company 
with  a  number  of  others,  fled  for  his  life  before  the 
enemy : 

He  said  that  they  traveled  the  most  secluded  route 
that  they  could  find,  as  they  considered  it  unsafe  to 
be  seen  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  country. 


326  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Game  being  very  scarce,  they  soon  lacked  for 
provisions,  and  finally  ran  out  altogether;  yet  they 
pursued  their  journey,  until  they  became  so  weak 
that  they  could  proceed  no  further.  They  then  held 
a  council,  in  which  Samuel  was  appointed  to  receive 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  they  united  in  prayer  to 
God,  that  he  would  make  known  to  them  the  means 
and  time  qf  their  deliverance. 

After  a  short  supplication,  it  was  manifested  to 
Samuel  that  they  might  obtain  sustenance  by  travel- 
ing a  short  distance  in  a  certain  direction.  This  he 
made  known  to  the  company,  and  immediately  set 
out  with  two  others  in  quest  of  the  promised  food. 
After  traveling  a  short  time,  they  came  to  an  Indian 
wigv^^am,  and  by  signs  made  known  to  the  Indians 
that  they  were  hungry.  Upon  this  the  squaw,  with 
all  possible  speed,  baked  them  some  cakes,  and  gave 
each  of  them  two;  after  which  she  sent  the  same 
number  to  those  who  remained  in  the  woods,  giving 
them  to  understand  that  she  would  send  more,  but 
she  had  very  little  flour,  and  her  papooses^  would  be 
hungry. 

From  this  time  onward,  the  brethren  succeeded 
in  getting  food  sufficient  to  sustain  them,  so  that 
none  of  them  perished. 

In  a  few  days,  Samuel  moved  his  family  into 
another  house,  and  we  were  then  less  crowded.  Soon 
after  he  left,  Lucy  was  taken  violently  ill,  and  for 
several  days  she  refused  to  take  any  kind  of  nourish- 
ment whatever.    I  had  not  long  the  privilege  of 

'Children. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


327 


taking  care  of  her,  as  I  was  shortly  seized  with  the 
cholera  myself,  and,  although  I  suffered  dreadfully 
with  the  cramp,  which  usually  attends  this  disease, 
it  was  nothing  in  comparison  to  another  pain,  which 
operated  upon  the  marrow  of  my  bones.  It  seemed 
sometimes  as  though  it  would  almost  burst  the  bones 
themselves  asunder. 

Everything  that  could  be  obtained  which  was  con- 
sidered good  for  such  diseases  was  administered  in 
my  case,  but  without  effect.  At  length  we  applied 
to  a  young  botanic  physician,  who  gave  me  some 
herb  tea  that  relieved  me  immediately. 

During  my  sickness,  Samuel  brought  Lucy  down- 
stairs several  times  in  his  arms  to  see  me,  as  they 
did  not  expect  me  to  live  any  length  of  time,  and 
they  were  willing  that  she  should  be  gratified.  When 
I  recovered,  I  found  that  she  had  taken  nothing  but 
ice-water,  while  I  was  sick,  but  her  fever  was 
broken,  and,  by  careful  nursing,  she  was  soon  able 
to  walk  about. 

Whilst  we  were  sick,  the  ladies  of  Quincy  sent 
us  every  delicacy  which  the  city  afforded;  in  fact, 
we  were  surrounded  with  the  kindest  of  neighbors. 
One  Mr.  Messer  and  family,  in  particular,  sought 
every  opportunity  to  oblige  us  while  we  remained  in 
the  place. 

Previous  to  our  sickness  in  Quincy,  my  husband 
sent  Brother  Lamoreaux  to  Missouri,  under  strict 
injunctions  to  see  Joseph  and  Hyrum,  or  find  out 
where  they  were  before  he  should  return.  About 
the  time  that  Lucy  began  to  walk  about  a  little, 
Brother  Partridge  and  Brother  Morley  came  to  our 


328  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

house  from  Lima,  to  see  if  Brother  Lamoreaux  had 
either  written  or  returned.  When  they  came  we 
had  heard  nothing  of  him,  but  while  they  were  with 
us  he  arrived  in  Quincy,  and  sent  us  word  that  he 
had  seen  neither  Joseph  nor  Hyrum.  At  this  infor- 
mation Brother  Partridge  was  in  despair,  and  said 
that  when  another  messenger  was  to  be  sent,  he 
would  go  himself,  as  it  was  hardly  possible  to  find 
a  man  that  would  do  as  he  was  instructed.  I  listened 
to  him  some  time  in  silence ;  at  last  the  Spirit,  which 
had  so  often  comforted  my  heart,  again  spoke  peace 
to  my  soul,  and  gave  me  an  assurance  that  I  should 
see  my  sons  before  the  night  should  again  close  over 
my  head.  "Brother  Partridge,"  I  exclaimed,  in  tears 
of  j-oy,  "I  shall  see  Joseph  and  Hyrum  before  to- 
morrow night."  "No,  Mother  Smith,"  said  he,  "I 
am  perfectly  discouraged;  I  don't  believe  we  shall 
ever  see  them  again  in  the  world.  At  any  rate,  do 
''not  flatter  yourself  that  they  will  be  here  as  soon  as 
that,  for  I  tell  you  that  you  will  be  disappointed.  I 
have  always  believed  you  before,  but  I  can  not  see 
any  prospect  of  this  prophecy  being  fulfilled,  but, 
if  it  is  so,  I  will  never  dispute  your  word  again." 
I  asked  him  if  he  would  stay  in  town  long  enough 
to  prove  my  sayings,  whether  they  were  true  or 
false.  He  promised  to  do  so.  Brothers  Partridge 
and  Morley  soon  afterwards  left  the  house,  in  order 
to  get  further  information  upon  the  subject. 

After  falling  asleep  that  night,  I  saw  my  sons 
in  vision.  They  were  upon  the  prairie  traveling, 
and  seemed  very  tired  and  hungry.  They  had  but 
one  horse.    I  saw  them  stop  and  tie  him  to  the 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


329 


stump  of  a  burnt  sapling,  then  lie  down  upon  the 
ground  to  rest  themselves;  and  they  looked  so  pale 
and  faint  that  it  distressed  me.  I  sprang  up,  and 
said  to  my  husband,  "Oh,  Mr.  Smith,  I  can  see 
Joseph  and  Hyrum,  and  they  are  so  weak  they  can 
hardly  endure.  Now  they  are  lying  asleep  on  the 
cold  ground!  Oh,  how  I  wish  that  I  could  give 
them  something  to  eat!" 

Mr.  Smith  begged  me  to  be  quiet,  saying  that  I 
was  nervous;  but  it  seemed  impossible  for  me  to 
rest — they  were  still  before  my  eyes — I  saw  them  lie 
there  full  two  hours;  then  one  of  them  went  away 
to  get  something  to  eat,  but  not  succeeding,  they 
traveled  on.  This  time  Hyrum  rode  and  Joseph 
walked  by  his  side,  holding  himself  up  by  the  stir- 
rup leather.  I  saw  him  reel  with  weakness,  but 
could  render  him  no  assistance.  My  soul  was 
grieved,  I  arose  from  my  bed,  and  spent  the  remain- 
der of  the  night  in  walking  the  floor. 

The  next  day  I  made  preparations  to  receive  my 
sons,  confident  that  the  poor,  afflicted  wanderers 
would  arrive  at  home  before  sunset.  Some  time  in 
the  afternoon,  Lucy  and  I  were  coming  down-stairs 
— she  was  before  me.  When  she  came  to  the  bottom 
of  the  steps  she  sprang  forward,  and  exclaimed, 
"There  is  Brother  Baldwin.  My  brothers — where 
are  they?"  This  was  Caleb  Baldwin,  who  was 
imprisoned  with  them.  He  told  us  that  Joseph  and 
Hyrum  were  then  crossing  the  river,  and  would 
soon  be  in  Quincy.  Lucy,  hearing  this,  ran  to  carry 
the  tidings  to  Hyrum's  family,  but  the  excitement 
was  not  sufficient  to  keep  up  her  strength.  When 


330  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


she  came  to  the  door  she  fell  prostrate.  After  recov- 
ering a  little,  she  communicated  the  welcome  news. 

When  Hyrum  and  Joseph  landed,  they  went  imme- 
diately to  see  their  families,  and  the  next  day,  they 
together  with  their  wives  and  the  rest  of  our  con- 
nections, visited  us.  The  Quincy  Grays  also  came 
to  our  house,  and  saluted  my  sons  in  the  most  polite 
manner.  During  the  afternoon,  I  asked  Joseph  and 
Hyrum,  in  the  presence  of  the  company,  if  they 
were  not  on  the  prairie  the  night  previous  in  the 
situation  which  I  have  already  related.  They  re- 
plied in  the  affirmative.  I  then  asked  Brother  Par- 
tridge if  he  believed  what  I  told  him  two  days 
before.  He  answered  that  he  would  for  ever  after 
that  time  acknowledge  me  to  be  a  true  prophetess. 
The  day  passed  pleasantly,  and  my  sons  returned 
to  their  homes,  happy  in  their  freedom  and  the 
society  of  their  friends. 

In  a  short  time  after  Joseph  and  Hyrum  landed 
in  Illinois,  George  Miller,  who  is  now  (1844)  the 
second  bishop  of  the  church,-  came  and  informed 
us  that  he  had  a  quantity  of  land  in  his  possession ; 
also,  that  upon  this  land  were  a  number  of  log 
houses,  which  the  brethren  might  occupy  if  they 
chose,  and  that  he  would  charge  them  nothing  for 
the  use  of  them,  unless  it  would  be  to  repair  them 
a  little,  as  they  needed  something  of  this  kind. 

'George  Miller  was  called  to  succeed  Edward  Partridge, 
presidine:  bishoD  (see  Doctrine  and  Covenants  107:8).  At 
the  October  conference  of  1844,  N.  K.  Whitney  was  made 
first  bishop  and  George  Miller  second.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  he  was  relegated  to  second  place  in  the  lifetime  of 
Joseph  Smith.  H.  C.  S. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


331 


My  sons  were  pleased  with  his  offer,  and  Samuel. 
Don  Carlos,  and  W.  J.  Salisbury,  renting  some  land 
of  him,  moved  upon  his  premises  as  soon  as  prepa- 
rations could  be  made  for  their  families. 


CHAPTER  LII. 

A  PT^^HASE  MADE  IN  THE  TOWN  OF  COMMERCE— 
Jv^^ii-PH  THE  PROPHET  GOES  TO  WASHINGTON — 
THE  DEATH  OF  JOSEPH  SMITH,  SENIOR. 

In  the  spring  of  1839,  Joseph  and  Hyrum  made 
purchase  of  a  tract  of  land  in  Commerce,  of  one 
Mr.  White,  and,  after  moving  their  families  thither, 
sent  Brother  Jacob  Bigler  back  for  Mr.  Smith  and 
myself. 

When  our  good  friend,  Mr.  Messer,  learned  that 
we  were  about  leaving  Quincy,  he  came  and  spent  a 
whole  day  with  us.  The  next  day  we  set  out  for 
Commerce.  After  proceeding  about  ten  miles,  our 
carriage  broke  down,  and,  although  my  husband 
was  quite  sick,  we  were  compelled  to  remain  in  the 
sun  at  least  three  hours  before  another  vehicle  could 
be  procured.  After  this  we  started  on,  and  soon 
arrived  at  Bear  Creek,  below  Lima.  We  found  this 
stream  so  high  that  it  was  dangerous  to  ford,  espe- 
cially for  those  who  were  unacquainted  with  the 
crossing  place,  but,  fortunately,  we  took  the  right 
direction,  and,  with  much  difficulty,  succeeded  in 
getting  across.  That  night  we  stayed  with-  Sistei 
Lawrence,  and  the  next  day  arrived  in  Commerce^ 
where  we  found  our  children  in  good  health. 


332  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

We  moved  into  a  small  room  attached  to  the  house 
in  which  Joseph  was  living.  Here  we  might  have 
enjoyed  ourselves,  but  Mr.  Smith  continued  to  sink, 
his  health  constantly  failing,  until  we  found  that 
medicine  was  of  no  benefit  to  him. 

As  the  season  advanced  the  brethren  began  to  feel 
the  effects  of  the  hardships  which  they  had  endured, 
as  also  the  unhealthiness  of  the  climate  in  which  we 
were  then  situated.  They  came  down  with  agues 
and  bilious  fevers  to  such  an  extent  that  there  were 
whole  families  in  which  not  one  was  able  to  help 
himself  to  a  drink  of  cold  water.  Among  the  sick 
were  Hyrum  and  his  family,  also  my  daughter  Lucy. 
Joseph  and  Emma,  seeing  the  distress,  commenced 
taking  the  sick  into  their  own  house,  with  the  view 
of  taking  care  of  them,  and  making  them  more  com- 
fortable. This  they  continued  to  do,  until  their 
house  became  so  crowded  that  they  were  compelled 
to  spread  a  tent  for  that  part  of  the  family  who 
were  still  on  their  feet,  in  order  to  make  ro-om  in 
the  houLe  for  the  sick.  During  this  time  of  distress, 
Silas  Smith,  my  husband's  brother,  came  up  from 
Pike  County,  Illinois,  to  consult  with  Mr.  Smith  in 
relation  to  some  church  business,  and  returned  with 
the  intention  of  bringing  his  family  hither,  but  was 
taken  sick  and  died  before  he  could  accomplish  it, 
and  we  never  saw  him  again.  My  son  William  also 
came  from  Plymouth  about  this  time,  and  informed 
us  that  he  had  sent  to  Missouri  for  our  provisions 
and  furniture,  and  that  all  had  been  destroyed  by 
the  mob.  When  he  returned  home,  he  took  Lovina, 
Hyrum's  eldest  daughter,  with  him,  hoping,  as  she 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


333 


was  sick,  that  the  ride  would  be  a  benefit  to  her. 
In  this  he  was  disappointed,  for  she  grew  worse 
instead  of  better,  s-o  that  in  a  short  time  he  con- 
sidered it  necessary  to  send  for  her  father,  as  she 
was  not  expected  to  live.  As  her  father  was  not 
able  to  sit  up  when  the  messenger  arrived,  myself 
and  Lucy  went  in  his  stead.  On  our  arrival  at 
Plymouth,  we  found  Lovina  better,  and  she  continued 
to  mend  until  she  regained  her  health.  But  the 
ague  took  a  fresh  hold  on  Lucy,  and  she  remained 
completely  under  the  power  of  the  disease  until  the 
sickness  in  Commerce  had  so  abated  that  Joseph 
was  able  to  make  us  a  visit. 

When  he  arrived,  Lucy  was  lying  up-stairs  in  a 
high  fever.  Upon  hearing  his  voice  below,  she 
sprang  from  her  bed  and  flew  down-stairs,  as  though 
she  was  altogether  well,  and  was  so  rejoiced  to  hear 
that  her  relatives  were  all  still  living,  and  in  better 
health  than  when  she  left  them,  that  the  excite- 
ment performed  an  entire  cure.  She  soon  regained 
her  strength,  and  we  returned  home. 

It  now  became  necessary  for  Joseph  to  take  a  jour- 
ney to  the  city  of  Washington,  for  he  had  been 
commanded  of  the  Lord,  while  in  prison,  to  pray  for 
redress  at  the  feet  of  the  President,  as  well  as  of 
Congress,  when  his  family  should  be  so  situated  that 
he  could  leave  home. 

Accordingly,  Joseph  started,  in  company  with  Sid- 
ney Rigdon,  Elias  Higbee,  Doctor  Foster,  and  Por- 
ter Rockwell,  to  fulfill  this  injunction.  After  arriv- 
ing in  Washington,  Joseph  and  Sidney  waited  upon 
his  Excellency  Martin  Van  Buren,  but  it  was  some 


334  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

time  before  they  had  an  opportunity  of  laying  their 
grievances  before  him;  however,  they  at  length 
succeeded  in  getting  his  attention.  After  listening 
to  the  entire  history  of  the  oppression  and  abuse, 
w^hich  we  had  received  at  the  hands  of  our  enemies, 
he  replied,  "Gentlemen,  your  cause  is  just;  but 

I  CAN  DO  NOTHING  FOR  YOU !" 

The  matter  was,  however,  laid  before  Congress. 
They,  too,  concluded  that  our  cause  was  just,  but 
that  they  could  do  nothing  for  us,  as  Missouri  was 
a  sovereign,  independent  State;  and  that  the  "Mor- 
mons" might  appeal  to  her  for  redress,  for,  in  their 
opinion,  she  neither  wanted  the  power  nor  lacked 
the  disposition  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  her  own 
citizens. 

During  Joseph's  absence,  Mr.  Smith  was  at  times 
very  weak,  and  coughed  dreadfully,  so  that  some 
nights  I  had  to  lift  him  out  of  bed.  On  one  occa- 
sion of  this  kind,  he  expressed  a  fear  that  he  should 
die  with  me  alone.  I  told  him  this  would  not  be 
the  case,  for  it  was  impressed  upon  my  mind  that 
when  he  died,  he  would  have  his  children  around 
him.  This  comforted  him  much,  for  he  was  very 
anxious  to  live  until  Joseph  should  return,  that  he 
might  bless  him  again  before  he  should  die. 

This  was  in  the  winter  of  1840.  Before  spring 
he  got  some  better,  so  that  he  was  able  to  walk  about 
a  little,  and  attend  a  few  blessing-meetings,  in  one 
of  which  he  blessed  Mrs.  Page,  the  wife  of  one  of 
the  Twelve,  and  a  young  woman  whom  Brother 
Page  had  baptized  and  confirmed  on  Bear  Creek  but 
a  few  days  previous.    In  blessing  the  latter,  Mr. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


335 


Smith  repeated  a  prophecy  which  had  been  pro- 
nounced upon  her  head  in  her  confirmation,  as  pre- 
cisely as  though  he  had  been  present  when  it  was 
uttered,  stating  that  the  Spirit  testified  that  these 
things  had  been  predicted  upon  her  head  in  her  con- 
firmation, which  very  much  surprised  her,  as  she 
knew  that  he  had  not  received  any  intimation  of  the 
same,  except  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

In  March,  1840,  Joseph  returned  from  the  city  of 
Washington.  At  this  time  Mr.  Smith  had  suffered 
a  relapse,  and  was  confined  to  his  bed.  On  Joseph's 
arrival,  he  administered  to  him,  and,  for  a  short 
time  my  husband  was  better.  In  the  ensuing  April 
a  conference  was  held  in  Nauvoo  (formerly  Com- 
merce) ,  during  which  the  result  of  Joseph's  mission 
to  Washington  was  made  known  to  the  brethren; 
who,  after  hearing  that  their  petition  was  rejected, 
concluded,  as  they  had  now  tried  every  court  which 
was  accessible  to  them  on  earth,  to  lay  their  case 
before  the  court  of  heaven,  and  leave  it  in  the  hands 
of  the  great  God. 

Joseph,  soon  after  his  arrival,  had  a  house  built 
for  us,  near  his  own,  and  -one  that  was  more  commo- 
dious than  that  which  we  previously  occupied. 

When  the  heat  of  the  ensuing  summer  came  on, 
my  husband's  health  began  to  decline  more  rapidly 
than  before.  This  was  caused,  perhaps,  in  part,  by 
the  renewal  of  the  Missouri  persecutions,  for  our 
sons  were  now  demanded  of  the  authorities  of  Illi- 
nois, as  fugitives  from  justice.  In  consequence  of 
which  they  were   compelled  to  absent  themselves 


336  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

from  the  city,  until  the  writs  which  were  issued  for 
their  arrest,  were  returned. 

About  this  time,  John  C.  Bennett  came  into  the 
city,  and  u<ndertook  to  devise  a  scheme  whereby 
Joseph  and  Hyrum,  besides  other  brethren  who  were 
persecuted  in  like  manner,  might  remain  at  home  in 
peace.  I  do  not  know  what  he  did,  I  only  know 
that  he  seemed  to  be  engaged  in  the  law,  as  well  as 
the  gospel.  My  heart  was  then  too  full  of  anxiety 
about  my  husband,  for  me  to  inquire  much  into  mat- 
ters which  I  did  not  understand ;  however,  the  result 
was,  that  Joseph  returned  from  Iowa. 

On  the  evening  of  his  return,  my  husband  com- 
menced vomiting  blood.  I  sent  immediately  for 
Joseph  and  Hyrum,  who,  as  soon  as  they  came,  gave 
him  something  that  alleviated  his  distress.  This 
was  on  Saturday  night.  The  next  morning  Joseph 
came  in  and  told  his  father  that  he  should  not  be 
troubled  any  more  for  the  present  with  the  Mis- 
sourians;  "and,"  said  he,  "I  can  now  stay  with 
you  as  much  as  you  wish."  After  which  he  informed 
his  father  that  it  was  then  the  privilege  of  the  Saints 
to  be  baptized  for  the  dead.  These  two  facts  Mr. 
Smith  was  delighted  to  hear,  and  requested,  that 
Joseph  should  be  baptized  for  Alvin  immediately, 
and,  as  he  expected  to  live  but  a  short  time,  desired 
that  his  children  would  stay  with  him,  as  much  as 
they  could  consistently. 

They  were  all  with  him,  except  Catharine,  who 
was  detained  from  coming  by  a  sick  husband.  Mr. 
Smith,  being  apprised  of  this,  sent  Arthur  Millikin, 
(who,  but  a  short  time  previous  was  married  to  our 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


337 


youngest  daughter),  after  Catharine  and  her  chil- 
dren; but,  before  he  went,  my  husband  blessed  him, 
fearing  that  it  would  be  too  late  when  he  returned. 
He  took  Arthur  by  the  hand,  and  said:  "My  son, 
I  have  given  you  my  youngest  darling  child,  and  will 
you  be  kind  to  her?"  "Yes,  father,"  he  replied,  "I 
will."  "Arthur,"  he  continued,  "you  shall  be 
blessed,  and  you  shall  be  great  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord;  and  if  you  will  be  faithful,  you  shalt  have 
all  the  desires  of  your  heart  in  righteousness.  Now, 
I  want  you  to  go  after  my  daughter  Catharine,  for 
1  know,  that  because  of  the  faithfulness  of  your 
heart,  you  will  not  come  back  without  her." 

Arthur  then  left,  and  my  husband  next  addressed 
himself  to  me :  "Mother,  do  you  not  know,  that  you 
are  the  mother  of  as  great  a  family  as  ever  lived 
upon  the  earth?  The  world  loves  its  own,  but  it 
does  not  love  us.  It  hates  us  because  we  are  not  of 
the  world;  therefore,  all  their  malice  is  poured  out 
upon  us,  and  they  seek  to  take  away  our  lives.  When 
I  look  upon  my  children,  and  realize  that,  although 
they  were  raised  up  to  do  the  Lord's  work,  yet  they 
must  pass  through  scenes  of  trouble  and  affliction 
as  long  as  they  live  upon  the  earth;  and  I  dread  to 
leave  them  surrounded  by  enemies." 

At  this  Hyrum  bent  over  his  father,  and  said: 
"Father,  if  you  are  taken  away,  will  you  not  inter- 
cede for  us  at  the  throne  of  grace,  that  our  enemies 
may  not  have  so  much  power  over  us?"  He  then 
laid  his  hands  upon  Hyrum's  head,  and  said: 
"My  son,  Hyrum,  I  seal  upon  your  head  your 
partriarchal  blessing,  which  I  placed  upon  your 


338  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

head  before,  for  that  shall  be  verified.  In  addition 
to  this,  I  now  give  you  my  dying  blessing.  You 
shall  have  a  season  of  peace,  so  that  you  shall  have 
sufficient  rest  to  accomplish  the  work  which  God  has 
given  you  to  do.  You  shall  be  as  firm  as  the  pillars 
of  heaven  unto  the  end  of  your  days.  I  now  seal 
upon  your  head  the  patriarchal  power,  and  you 
shall  bless  the  people.  This  is  my  dying  blessing 
upon  your  head  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Amen." 

To  Joseph  he  said:  "Joseph,  my  son,  you  are 
called  to  a  high  and  holy  calling.  You  are  even 
called  to  do  the  work  of  the  Lord.  Hold  out  faith- 
ful, and  you  shall  be  blessed,  and  your  children  after 
you.  You  shall  even  live  to  finish  your  work."  At 
this  Joseph  cried  out,  weeping,  "Oh !  my  father,  shall 
I?"  "Yes,"  said  his  father,  "you  shall  live  to  lay  out 
the  plan  of  all  the  work  which  God  has  given  you  to 
do.  This  is  my  dying  blessing  on  your  head,  in  the 
name  of  Jesus.  I  also  confirm  your  former  blessing 
upon  your  head;  for  it  shall  be  fulfilled.  Even  so. 
Amen." 

To  Samuel  he  said:  "Samuel,  you  have  been  a 
faithful  and  obedient  son.  By  your  faithfulness 
you  have  brought  many  into  the  church.  The  Lord 
has  seen  your  diligence,  and  you  are  blessed,  in  that 
he  has  never  chastized  you,  but  has  called  you  home 
to  rest;  and  there  is  a  crown  laid  up  for  you,  which 
shall  grow  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect 
day. 

"When  the  Lord  called  you,  he  said,  'Samuel,  1 
have  seen  thy  sufferings,  have  heard  thy  cries,  and 
beheld  thy  faithfulness;  thy  skirts  are  clear  from 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


339 


the  blood  of  this  generation.'  Because  of  these 
things,  I  seal  upon  your  head  all  the  blessings  which 
i  have  hitherto  pronounced  upon  you;  and  this  is 
my  dying  blessing,  I  now  seal  upon  you.  Even  so. 
Amen." 

To  William  he  said :  "William,  my  son,  thou  hast 
been  faithful  in  declaring  the  word,  even  before  the 
church  was  organized.  Thou  hast  been  sick,  yet 
thou  hast  traveled  to  warn  the  people.  And  when 
thou  couldst  not  walk,  thou  didst  sit  by  the  wayside, 
and  call  upon  the  Lord,  until  he  provided  a  way  for 
thee  to  be  carried.  Thou  wast  sick  and  afflicted, 
when  thou  wast  away  from  thy  father's  house,  and 
no  one  knew  it,  to  assist  thee  in  thy  afflictions;  but 
the  Lord  did  see  the  honesty  of  thine  heart,  and  thou 
wast  blessed  in  thy  mission.  William,  thou  shalt  be 
blessed,  and  thy  voice  shall  be  heard  in  distant  lands, 
from  place  to  place,  and  they  shall  regard  thy  teach- 
ings. Thou  shalt  be  like  a  roaring  lion  in  the  forest, 
for  they  shall  hearken  and  hear  thee.  And  thou 
sualt  be  the  means  of  bringing  many  sheaves  to 
Zion,  and  thou  shalt  be  great  in  the  eyes  of  many, 
and  they  shall  call  thee  blessed,  and  I  will  bless  thee, 
and  thy  children  after  thee.  And  the  blessings 
which  I  sealed  upon  thy  head  before,  I  now  confirm 
again,  and  thy  days  shall  be  many,  thou  shalt  do  a 
great  work,  and  live  as  long  as  thou  desirest  life. 
Even  so.  Amen." 

To  Don  Carlos  he  said :  "Carlos,  my  darling  son, 
when  I  blessed  you,  your  blessing  was  never  written, 
and  I  could  not  get  it  done,  but  now  I  want  you  to 
get  my  book,  which  contains  the  blessings  of  my 


340  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

family.  Take  your  pen  and  fill  out  all  those  parts 
of  your  blessing  which  were  not  written.  You  shall 
have  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  be  able  to  fill  up  all 
the  vacancies  which  were  left  by  Oliver  when  he 
wrote  it.  You  shall  be  great  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  for  he  sees  and  knows  the  integrity  of  your 
heart,  and  you  shall  be  blessed;  all  that  know  you 
shall  bless  you.  Your  wife  and  your  children  shall 
also  be  blessed,  and  you  shall  live  to  fulfill  all  that 
the  Lord  has  sent  you  to  do.    Even  so.  Amen." 

To  Sophronia  he  said:  "Sophronia,  my  oldest 
daughter,  thou  hadst  sickness  when  thou  wast  young, 
and  thy  parents  did  cry  over  thee,  to  have  the  Lord 
spare  thy  life.  Thou  didst  see  trouble  and  sorrow, 
but  thy  troubles  shall  be  lessened,  for  thou  hast  been 
faithful  in  helping  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord.  And  thou  shalt  be  blessed,  and 
the  blessings  of  heaven  shall  rest  aown  upon  thee. 
Thy  last  days  shall  be  thy  best.  Although  thou 
shalt  see  trouble,  sorrow,  and  mourning,  thou 
shalt  be  comforted,  and  the  Lord  will  lift  thee  up, 
and  bless  thee  and  thy  family,  and  thou  shalt  live  as 
long  as  thou  desirest  life.  This  dying  blessing  I 
pronounce  and  seal  upon  thy  head,  with  thine  other 
blessings.    Even  so.  Amen." 

After  this  he  rested  some  time,  and  then  said: 
"Catharine  has  been  a  sorrowful  child,  trouble  has 
she  seen,  the  Lord  has  looked  down  upon  her  and 
seen  her  patience,  and  has  heard  her  cries.  She 
shall  be  comforted  when  her  days  of  sorrow  are 
ended,  then  shall  the  Lord  look  down  upon  her,  and 
she  shall  have  the  comforts  of  life,  and  the  good 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


341 


things  of  this  world,  then  shall  she  rise  up,  and 
defend  her  cause.  She  shall  live  to  raise  up  her 
family;  and  in  time  her  sufferings  shall  be  over,  for 
the  day  is  coming  when  the  patient  shall  receive 
their  reward.  Then  she  shall  rise  over  her  enemies, 
and  shall  have  horses  and  land,  and  things  around 
her  to  make  her  heart  glad.  I,  in  this  dying  bless- 
ing, confirm  her  patriarchal  blessing  upon  her  head, 
and  she  shall  receive  eternal  life.    Even  so.  Amen." 

To  Lucy  he  said:  "Lucy,  thou  art  my  youngest 
child,  my  darling.  And  the  Lord  gave  thee  unto  us 
to  be  a  comfort  and  a  blessing  to  us  in  our  old  age, 
therefore,  thou  must  take  good  care  of  thy  mother. 
Thou  art  innocent,  and  thy  heart  is  right  before  the 
Lord.  Thou  hast  been  with  us  through  all  the  per- 
secution; thou  hast  seen  nothing  but  persecution, 
sickness,  and  trouble,  except  when  the  Lord  hath 
cheered  our  hearts.  If  thou  wilt  continue  faithful, 
thou  shalt  be  blessed  with  a  house  and  land;  thou 
shalt  have  food  and  raiment,  and  no  more  be  per- 
secuted and  driven,  as  thou  hast  hitherto  been. 
Now  continue  faithful,  and  thou  shalt  live  long  and 
be  blessed,  and  thou  shalt  receive  a  reward  in 
heaven.  This  dying  blessing,  and  also  thy  patri- 
archal blessing,  I  seal  upon  thy  head  in  the  name  of 
Jesus.    Even  so.  Amen." 

After  this  he  spoke  to  me  again,  and  said: 
"Mother,  do  you  not  know,  that  you  are  one  of  the 
most  singular  women  in  the  world?"  "No,"  I  re- 
plied, "I  do  not."  "Well,  I  do,"  he  continued,  "you 
have  brought  up  my  children  for  me  by  the  fireside, 
and,  when  I  was  gone  from  home,  you  comforted 


342  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


them.  You  have  brought  up  all  my  children,  and 
could  always  comfort  them  when  I  could  not.  We 
have  often  wished  that  we  might  both  die  at  the 
same  time,  but  you  must  not  desire  to  die  when  I 
do,  for  you  must  stay  to  comfort  the  children  when 
I  am  gone.  So  do  not  mourn,  but  try  to  be  com- 
forted. Your  last  days  shall  be  your  best  days,  as 
to  being  driven,  for  you  shall  have  more  power  over 
your  enemies  than  you  have  had.  Again  I  say,  be 
comforted."^ 

He  then  paused  for  some  time,  being  exhausted. 
After  which  he  said,  in  a  tone  of  surprise,  "I  can 
see  and  hear,  as  well  as  ever  I  could."  [A  second 
pause  of  considerable  length.}  "I  see  Alvin." 
[Third  pause.}  "I  shall  live  seven  or  eight  min- 
utes." Then  straightening  himself,  he  laid  his 
hands  together;  after  which  he  began  to  breathe 
shorter,  and,  in  about  eight  minutes,  his  breath 
stopped,  without  even  a  struggle  or  a  sigh,  and  his 
spirit  took  its  flight  for  the  regions  where  the  justi- 
fied ones  rest  from  their  labors.  He  departed  so 
calmly,  that,  for  some  time,  we  could  not  believe 
but  that  he  would  breathe  again. 

Catharine  did  not  arrive  until  the  evening  of  the 
second  day;  still  we  were  compelled  to  attend  to  his 
obsequies  the  day  after  his  decease,  or  run  the  risk 

'In  the  blessing  recorded  above  observe  that  Hyrum  and 
Samuel  who  were  themselves  faithful  men  received  no  prom- 
ise for  their  children.  Their  families  afterward  went  with 
the  exodus  to  Utah. 

Joseph  and  William  received  promise  not  only  for  them- 
selves but  also  for  their  children.  Neither  of  these  familaes 
went  to  Utah  but  both  were  identified  with  the  Reorganized 
Church.  H.  C.  S. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


343 


of  seeing  Joseph  and  Hyrum  torn  from  their  father's 
corpse  before  it  was  interred,  and  carried  away  by 
their  enemies  to  prison.  After  we  had  deposited 
his  last  remains  in  their  narrow  house,  my  sons  fled 
from  the  city,  and  I  returned  to  my  desolate  home; 
and  I  then  thought,  that  the  greatest  grief  which  it 
was  possible  for  me  to  feel,  had  fallen  upon  me  in 
the  death  of  my  beloved  husband.  Although  that 
portion  of  my  life,  which  lay  before  me,  seemed  to 
be  a  lonesome,  trackless  waste,  yet  1  did  not  think 
that  I  could  possibly  find,  in  traveling  over  it,  a 
sorrow  more  searching,  or  a  calamity  more  dread- 
ful, than  the  present.  But,  as  I  hasten  to  the  end 
of  my  story,  the  reader  will  be  able  to  form  an 
opinion  with  regard  to  the  correctness  of  my  con- 
clusion. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

JOSEPH  ARRESTED  AT  QUINCY — DISCHARGED  AT  MON- 
MOUTH— JOSEPH   CHARGED   WITH  AN  ATTEMPT 
TO  ASSASSINATE  EX-GOVERNOR  BOGGS. 

In  the  month  of  December,  1840,  we  received  for 
Nauvoo,  a  city  charter,  with  extensive  privileges; 
and,  in  February  of  the  same  winter,  charters  were 
also  received  for  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  and  for  the 
University  of  the  City  of  Nauvoo. 

Not  long  after  this  the  office  of  lieutenant-general 
was  conferred  upon  Joseph,  by  the  vote  of  the  peo- 


344  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

ple^  and  a  commission  from  the  governor  of  the 
Sfate.  In  the  early  part  of  the  same  winter,  I  made 
Bro,  Knowlton  a  visit  on  Bear  Creek.  While  there 
I  had  the  misfortune  to  sprain  one  of  my  knees,  in 
getting  out  of  a  wagon,  and,  a  cold  settling  in  the 
injured  part,  rheumatism  succeeded.  Soon  after  I 
returned  home,  I  was  confined  to  my  bed,  and  for 
six  weeks  I  had  watchers  every  night.  Sophronia 
was  then  with  me,  her  husband  being  absent  on  a 
mission,  and  she  assisted  Lucy  and  Arthur  in  taking 
care  of  me.  They  were  indefatigable  in  their  atten- 
tions, and  by  their  faithful  care  I  was  enabled, 
after  a  long  season  of  helplessness,  to  stand  upon  my 
feet  again. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  1841,  Mary  Smith,  Sam- 
uel's wife,  died,  in  consequence  of  her  exposures  in 
Missouri. 

On  the  5th  of  June,  the  same  year,  Joseph  went, 
in  company  with  several  others,  on  a  visit  to  Quincy. 
As  he  was  returning,  Governor  Carlin  sent  one  of 
the  Missouri  writs  after  him,  and  had  him  arrested 
for  murder,  treason,  etc.,  etc.  Joseph,  choosing  to 
be  tried  at  Monmouth,  Warren  County,  the  officers 
brought  him  to  Nauvoo,  and  after  procuring  wit- 
nesses, they  proceeded  to  Monmouth.  Esquire 
Browning  spoke  in  Joseph's   defense,-   and  was 

'The  organization  of  the  Nauvoo  Legion  was  authorized 
by  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  in  1840.  Signed  by  the 
governor  December  16,  1840.  Joseph  Smith  and  other  offi- 
cers of  the  Legion  were  elected  by  the  militia  who  were  to 
compose  said  Legion  on  February  4,  1841,  and  subsequently 
commissioned  bv  the  erovernor.  H.  C.  S. 

■Afterwards  Honorable  O.  H.  Browning,  and  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  under  President  Lincoln. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


345 


moved  upon  by  the  Spirit  that  was  given  him,  in 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  the  Saints ;  and,  suffice  it  to 
say,  he  gained  the  case.  The  opposing  attorney 
tried  his  utmost  to  convict  Joseph  of  the  crimes  men- 
tioned in  the  writ,  but,  before  he  had  spoken  many 
minutes,  he  turned  sick,  and  vomited  at  the  feet  of 
;;he  judge;  which,  joined  to  the  circumstance  of  his 
advocating  the  case  of  the  Missourians,  who  are 
called  Pukes  by  their  countrymen,  obtained  for  him 
the  same  appellation,  and  was  a  source  of  much 
amusement  to  the  court. 

When  Joseph  returned,  the  church  was  greatly 
rejoiced,  and  besought  him  never  again  to  leave  the 
city. 

About  the  first  of  August,  Don  Carlos  was  taken 
sick,  and  on  the  seventh  he  died.  The  particulars 
of  his  death  will  be  given  hereafter. 

On  the  first  day  of  September,  Robert  B.  Thomp- 
son, who  was  Hyrum's  brother-in-law,  and  partner 
with  Don  Carlos  in  publishing  the  Times  and  Sea- 
sons, died  of  the  same  disease  which  had  carried 
Carlos  out  of  the  world — supposed  to  be  quick  con- 
sumption. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  Joseph's  youngest  child 
died ;  he  was  named  Don  Carlos,  after  his  uncle. 

On  the  28th  of  September,  Hyrum's  second  son, 
named  Hyrum,  died  of  a  fever. 

The  succeeding  winter  we  were  left  to  mourn  over 
the  ravages  which  death  had  made  in  our  family, 
without  interruption;  but  sickness  ceased  from 
among  us,  and  the  mob  retired  to  their  homes. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  1842,  Lilburn  W.  Boggs,  ex- 


346  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 


governor  of  Missouri,  was  said  to  have  been  shot  by 
an  assassin.  And,  in  consequence  of  the  injuries 
which  we  had  received,  suspicion  immediately  fast- 
ened itself  upon  Joseph,  who  was  accused  of  having 
committed  the  crime.  But,  as  he  was  on  that  day 
at  an  officer's  drill  in  Nauvoo,  several  hundred  miles 
from  where  Boggs  resided,  and  was  seen  by  hun- 
dreds, and,  on  the  day  following,  at  a  public  train- 
ing, where  thousands  of  witnesses  beheld  him,  we 
supposed  that  the  crime,  being  charged  upon  him, 
was  such  an  outrage  upon  common  sense,  that,  when 
his  persecutors  became  apprised  of  these  facts,  they 
would  cease  to  accuse  him.  But  in  this  we  were 
disappointed,  for  when  they  found  it  impossible  to 
sustain  the  charge  in  this  shape,  they  preferred  it 
in  another,  in  order  to  make  it  more  probable.  They 
now  accused  my  son  of  sending  0.  P.  Rockwell  into 
Missouri,  with  orders  to  shoot  the  ex-governor;  and 
from  this  time,  they  pursued  both  Joseph  and 
Porter,  with  all  diligence,  till  they  succeeded  in  get- 
ting the  latter  into  jail,  in  Missouri. 

Joseph,  not  choosing  to  fall  into  their  hands,  fled 
from  the  city,  and  secreted  himself,  sometimes  in 
one  place,  sometimes  in  another.  He  generally  kept 
some  friend  with  him,  in  whom  he  had  confidence, 
who  came  frequently  to  the  city.  Thus  communi- 
cation was  kept  up  between  Joseph,  his  family,  and 
the  church.  At  this  time,  Brother  John  Taylor  lay 
very  sick  of  the  fever,  and  was  so  reduced  that  he 
was  not  able  to  stand  upon  his  feet.  Joseph  visited 
him,  and,  after  telling  him  that  he  wished  to  start 
that  night  on  a  journey  of  fifty  miles,  requested 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


347 


Brother  Taylor  to  accompany  him,  saying,  if  he 
would  do  so,  he  would  be  able  to  ride  the  whole  way. 
Brother  Taylor  believing  this,  they  set  out  together, 
and  performed  the  journey  with  ease.  This  time 
Joseph  remained  away  two  weeks;  then  made  his 
family  and  myself  a  short  visit,  after  which  he  again 
left  us.  In  this  way  he  lived,  hiding  first  in  one 
place,  and  then  in  another,  until  the  sitting  of  the 
Legislature,  when,  by  the  advice  of  Governor  Ford, 
he  went  tx)  Springfield,  and  was  tried  before  Judge 
Pope  for  the  crime  alleged  against  him;  namely, 
that  of  being  accessory  to  the  attempted  assassina- 
tion of  Ex-govemor  Boggs.^  He  was  again  dis- 
charged, and,  when  he  returned  home,  there  was  a 
jubilee  held  throughout  the  city.  The  remainder  of 
the  winter,  and  the  next  spring,  we  spent  in  peace. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  1843,  Joseph  went  with 
his  wife  to  visit  Mrs.  Wasson,  (ten  miles  southeast 
of  Dixon,  Illinois,)  who  was  his  wife's  sister. 
Whilst  there,  an  attempt  was  made  to  kidnap  him, 
and  take  him  into  Missouri,  by  J.  H.  Reynolds,  from 
that  State,  and  Harmon  Wilson,  of  Carthage,  Han- 
cock County,  Illinois,  who  was  a  Missourian  in  prin- 
ciple. You  have  read  Hyrum's  testimony,  and  can 
judge  of  the  treatment  which  Joseph  received  at 
their  hands.  Suffice  it  to  say,  he  was  shamefully 
abused.    Wilson  had  authority  from  the  governor 

'There  was  not  a  trial  for  accessory  to  attempted  assassina- 
tion but  an  inquiry  before  Judge  Pope  to  determine  if  there 
was  sufficient  cause  to  deliver  up  Joseph  Smith  to  the  officers 
of  Missouri  upon  the  requisition  of  Missouri's  governor. 
The  decision  was  that  he  should  be  discharged  and  not  be 
delivered  up  for  trial  in  IVLissouri. 


348  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

of  Illinois  to  take  Joseph  Smith,  Junior,  and  deliver 
him  into  the  hands  of  the  before  named  Reynolds; 
but  as  neither  of  them  showed  any  authority  save 
a  brace  of  pistols,  Joseph  took  them  for  false  impris- 
onment. He  then  obtained  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
of  the  Master  in  Chancery  of  Lee  County,  return- 
able before  the  nearest  court  authorized  to  determine 
upon  such  writs ;  and  the  municipal  court  of  Nauvoo 
being  the  nearest  one  invested  with  this  power,  an 
examination  was  had  before  said  court,  when  it  was 
made  to  appear  that  the  writ  was  defective  and  void ; 
furthermore,  that  he  was  innocent  of  the  charges 
therein  alleged  against  him.  It  was  in  this  case 
that  Hyrum's  testimony  was  given,  which  is  re- 
hearsed in  a  preceding  chapter. 

Not  long  after  this  I  broke  up  housekeeping,  and 
at  Joseph's  request,  I  took  up  my  residence  at  his 
house.  Soon  after  which  I  was  taken  very  sick, 
and  was  brought  nigh  unto  death.  For  five  nights 
Emma  never  left  me,  but  stood  at  my  bedside  all 
the  night  long;  at  the  end  of  which  time,  she  was 
overcome  with  fatigue,  and  taken  sick  herself. 
Joseph  then  took  her  place,  and  watched  with  me 
the  five  succeeding  nights,  as  faithfully  as  Emma 
had  done.  About  this  time  I  began  to  recover,  and, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  I  was  able  to  walk 
about  the  house  a  little,  and  sit  up  during  the  day. 
I  have  hardly  been  able  to  go  on  foot  further  than 
across  the  street  since. 

On  the  third  day  of  October,  1843,  Sophronia, 
second  daughter  of  Don  Carlos,  died  of  the  scarlet 
fever,  leaving  her  widowed  mother  doubly  desolate. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


349 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

JOSEPH  AND  HYRUM  ASSASSINATED. 

About  the  time  that  John  C.  Bennett  left  Nauvoo, 
an  election  was  held  for  the  office  of  mayor,  and 
Joseph,  being  one  of  the  candidates,  was  elected  to 
that  office.  I  mention  this  fact  in  order  to  explain 
a  circumstance  that  took  place  in  the  winter  of 
1843  and  1844,  which  was  as  follows:  Joseph,  in 
organizing  the  city  police,  remarked,  that,  "Were  it 
not  for  enemies  within  the  city,  there  would  be  no 
danger  from  foes  without,"  adding,  "If  it  were  not 
for  a  Brutus,  I  might  live  as  long  as  Csesar  would 
have  lived." 

Some  one,  who  suspected  that  Joseph  alluded  to 
William  Law,  went  to  the  latter,  and  informed  him 
that  Joseph  regarded  him  as  a  Brutus;  and,  that  it 
was  his  own  opinion,  that  he  (Law)  was  in  immi- 
nent danger.  Law,  on  hearing  this  tale,  went  im- 
mediately to  Joseph,  who  straightway  called  a 
council,  and  had  all  that  knew  anything  concerning 
the  matter  brought  together,  and  thus  succeeded  in 
satisfying  Law  that  he  intended  no  evil  in  what  he 
had  said. 

About  this  time,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Joseph 
Jackson,  who  had  been  in  the  city  several  months, 
being  desirous  to  marry  Lovina  Smith,  Hyrum's 
oldest  daughter,  asked  her  father  if  he  was  willing 
to  receive  him  as  a  son-in-law.  Being  answered  in 
the  negative,  he  went  and  requested  Joseph  to  use 


350  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

his  influence  in  his  favor.  As  Joseph  refused  to  do 
so,  he  next  applied  to  Law,  who  was  our  secret 
enemy,  for  assistance  in  stealing  Lovina  from  her 
father,  and,  from  this  time  forth,  he  continued  seek- 
ing out  our  enemies,  till  he  succeeded  in  getting  a 
number  to  join  him  in  a  conspiracy  to  murder  the 
whole  Smith  family.  They  commenced  holding 
secret  meetings,  one  of  which  was  attended  by  a 
man  named  Eaton,  who  was  our  friend,  and  he  ex- 
posed the  plot. 

This  man  declared  that  the  Higbees,  Laws,  and 
Fosters,  were  all  connected  with  Jackson  in  his 
operations.  There  was  also  another  individual, 
named  Augustine  Spencer,  a  dissolute  character, 
(although  a  member  of  an  excellent  family),  who, 
I  believe,  was  concerned  in  this  conspiracy.  About 
the  time  of  Eaton's  disclosures,  this  man  went  to 
the  house  of  his  brother  Orson,  and  abused  my  sons 
and  the  church  at  such  a  rate  that  Orson  finally  told 
him  that  he  must  either  stop  or  leave  he  house. 
Augustine  refused,  and  they  grappled.  In  the  eon- 
test,  Orson  was  considerably  injured.  He  went 
immediately  to  Joseph,  and,  stating  the  case,  asked 
for  a  warrant.  Joseph  advised  him  to  go-  to  Doctor 
Foster,  who  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  Accord- 
ingly, he  went  and  demanded  a  warrant  of  Foster, 
but  was  refused.  On  account  of  this  refusal,  Foster 
was  brought  before  Esquire  Wells,  and  tried  for 
non-performance  of  duty.  At  this  trial  Joseph  met 
Charles  Foster,  the  doctor's  brother,  who  attempted 
to  shoot  him,  as  soon  as  they  met,  but  was  hindered 
by  Joseph's  catching  his  hands,  and  holding  him  by 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


351 


main  force,  in  which  way  Joseph  was  compelled  to 
confine  him  above  an  hour,  in  order  to  preserve  his 
own  life. 

Jackson  and  the  apostates  continued  to  gather 
strength  till,  finally,  they  established  a  printing- 
press  in  our  midst.  Through  this  organ  they 
belched  forth  the  most  intolerable,  and  the  blackest 
lies  that  were  ever  palmed  upon  a  community. 
Being  advised,  by  men  of  influence  and  standing, 
to  have  this  scandalous  press  removed,  the  city 
council  took  the  matter  into  consideration,  and,  find- 
ing that  the  law  would  allow  them  to  do  so,  they 
declared  it  a  nuisance,  and  had  it  treated  accord- 
ingly.^ 

At  this  the  apostates  left  the  city,  in  a  great  rage, 
swearing  vengeance  against  Joseph  and  the  city 
council,  and,  in  fact,  the  whole  city.  They  went 
forthwith  to  Carthage,  and  got  out  writs  for  Joseph, 
and  all  those  who  were  in  any  wise  concerned  in  the 
destruction  of  the  press.  But,  having  no  hopes  of 
justice  in  that  place,  the  brethren  took  out  a  writ 
of  habeas  corpus,  and  were  tried  before  Esquire 
Wells,  at  Nauvoo.  With  this  the  apostates  were  not 
satisfied.  They  then  called  upon  one  Levi  Williams, 
(who  was  a  bitter  enemy  to  us,  whenever  he  was 
sufficiently  sober  to  know  his  own  sentiments,  for  he 
is  a  drunken,  ignorant,  illiterate  brute,  that  never 
had  a  particle  of  character  or  influence,  until  he 
began  to  call  mob  meetings,  and  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  rabble  like  unto  himself,  to  drive  the 


'This  publication  was  the  famous  Nauvoo  Exoositor. 


352  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

"Mormons,")  at  which  time  he  was  joined  by  cer- 
tain unmentionable  ones  in  Warsaw  and  Carthage; 
and  for  his  zeal  in  promoting  mobocracy,  he  became 
the  intimate  acquaintance  and  confidential  friend 
of  some  certain  preachers,  lawyers,  and  representa- 
tives, and,  finally,  of  Joseph  Jackson  and  the  apos- 
tates. He,  as  Colonel  Levi  Williams,  commands  the 
militia  (alias  mob)  -of  Hancock  County.  On  this 
man,  I  say,  they  called  for  assistance  to  drag  Joseph 
and  Hyrum,  with  the  rest  of  the  council,  to  Car- 
thage. Williams  swore  it  should  be  done,  and 
gathered  his  band  together.  Joseph,  not  choosing 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  wolves  or  tigers,  called 
upon  the  Legion  to  be  in  readiness  to  defend  the 
city  and  its  chartered  rights.  Just  at  this  crisis, 
Governor  Ford  arrived  in  Quincy.  The  apostates 
then  appealed  from  the  mob  to  the  governor.  At 
this  time  he  came  into  the  midst  of  the  mob,  and 
asked  them  if  they  would  stand  by  him  in  executing 
and  defending  the  law.  They  said  they  would;  and 
so  he  organized  them  into  militia,  and  then  de- 
manded the  brethren  for  trial  upon  the  warrant 
issued  by  Smith;  (as  he  did  not  choose  to  recognize 
the  right  of  habeas  corpus  granted  us  in  the  city 
charter.)  At  the  same  time  he  pledged  the  faith  of 
the  State,  that  the  brethren  should  be  protected  from 
mob  violence.  Those  called  for  in  the  warrant, 
made  their  appearance  at  Carthage,  June  24,  1844. 
Un  the  morning  of  the  25th,  Joseph  and  Hyrum 
vere  arrested  for  treason,  by  a  warrant  founded 
ipon  the  oaths  of  A.  0.  Norton  and  Augustine 
Spencer. 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


353 


I  will  not  dwell  upon  the  awful  scene  which  suc- 
ceeded. My  heart  is  thrilled  with  grief  and  indig- 
nation, and  my  blood  curdles  in  my  veins  whenever 
I  speak  of  it. 

My  sons  were  thrown  into  jail,  where  they  re- 
mained three  days,  in  company  with  Brothers  Rich- 
ards, Taylor,  and  Markham.  At  the  end  of  this 
time,  the  governor  disbanded  most  of  the  men,  but 
left  a  guard  of  eight  of  our  bitterest  enemies  over 
the  jail,  and  sixty  more  of  the  same  character  about 
a  hundred  yards  distant.  He  then  came  into  Nau- 
voo,  with  a  guard  of  fifty  or  sixty  men,  made  a  short 
speech,  and  returned  immediately.  During  his 
absence  from  Carthage,  the  guard  rushed  Brother 
Markham  out  of  the  place  at  the  point  of  the  bayo- 
net. Soon  after  this,  two  hundred  of  those  dis- 
charged in  the  morning  rushed  into  Carthage,  armed, 
and  painted  black,  red,  and  yellow,  and  in  ten  min- 
utes fled  again,  leaving  my  sons  murdered  and  man- 
gled corpses!! 

In  leaving  the  place,  a  few  of  them  found  Samuel 
coming  into  Carthage,  alone,  on  horseback,  and,  find- 
ing that  he  was  one  of  our  family,  they  attempted  to 
shoot  him,  but  he  escaped  out  of  their  hands,  al- 
though they  pursued  him  at  the  top  of  their  speed  for 
more  than  two  hours.  He  succeeded  the  next  day  in 
getting  to  Nauvoo  in  season  to  go  out  and  meet  the 
procession  Avith  the  bodies  of  Hyrum  and  Joseph, 
as  the  mob  had  the  kindness  to  allow  us  the  privi- 
lege of  bringing  them  home,  and  burying  them  in 
Nauvoo,  notwithstanding  the  immense  reward  which 
was  offered  by  the  Missourians  for  Joseph's  head. 


354  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

Their  bodies  were  attended  home  by  only  two  per- 
sons, save  those  that  went  from  this  place.  These 
were  Brother  Willard  Richards,  and  a  Mr.  Hamilton ; 
Brother  John  Taylor  having  been  shot  in  prison,  and 
nearly  killed,  he  could  not  be  moved  until  some  time 
afterwards. 

After  the  corpses  were  washed  and  dressed  in  their 
burial  clothes,  we  were  allowed  to  see  them.  I  had 
for  a  long  time  braced  every  nerve,  roused  every 
energy  of  my  soul,  and  called  upon  God  to  strengthen 
me ;  but  when  I  entered  the  room,  and  saw  my  mur- 
dered sons  extended  both  at  once  before  my  eyes, 
and  heard  the  sobs  and  groans  of  my  family,  and 
the  cries  of  "Father!  Husband!  Brothers!"  from 
the  lips  of  their  wives,  children,  brothers,  and  sis- 
ters, it  was  too  much,  I  sank  back,  crying  to  the 
Lord,  in  the  agony  of  my  soul,  "My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  this  family!"  A  voice  re- 
plied, "I  have  taken  them  to  myself,  that  they  might 
have  rest."  Emma  was  carried  back  to  her  room 
almost  in  a  state  of  insensibility.  Her  oldest  son 
approached  the  corpse,  and  dropped  upon  his  knees, 
and  laying  his  cheek  against  his  father's,  and  kissing 
him,  exclaimed,  "Oh,  my  father,  my  father!"  As 
for  myself,  I  was  swallowed  up  in  the  depths  of  my 
afflictions;  and,  though  my  soul  was  filled  with  hor- 
ror past  imagination,  yet  I  was  dumb,  until  I  arose 
again  to  contemplate  the  spectacle  before  me.  Oh! 
at  that  moment  how  my  mind  flew  through  every 
scene  of  sorrow  and  distress  which  we  had  passed 
together,  in  which  they  had  shown  the  innocence 
and  sympathy  which  filled  their  guileless  hearts.  As 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


355 


I  looked  upon  their  peaceful,  smiling  countenances, 
I  seemed  almost  to  hear  them  say,  "Mother,  weep 
not  for  us,  we  have  overcome  the  world  by  love ;  we 
carried  to  them  the  g-ospel,  that  their  souls  might  be 
saved;  they  slew  us  for  our  testimony,  and  thus 
placed  us  beyond  their  power;  their  ascendancy  is 
for  a  moment,  ours  is  an  eternal  triumph." 

I  then  thought  upon  the  promise  which  I  had 
received  in  Missouri,  that  in  five  years  Joseph  should 
have  power  over  all  his  enemies.  The  time  had 
elapsed,  and  the  promise  was  fulfilled. 

I  left  the  scene  and  returned  to  my  room,  to  pon- 
der upon  the  calamities  of  my  family.  Soon  after 
this,  Samuel  said,  "Mother,  I  have  had  a  dreadful 
distress  in  my  side  ever  since  I  was  chased  by  the 
mob,  and  I  think  I  have  received  some  injury  which 
is  going  to  make  me  sick."  And  indeed  he  was  then 
not  able  to  sit  up,  as  he  had  been  broken  of  his 
rest,  besides  being  dreadfully  fatigued  in  the  chase, 
which,  joined  to  the  shock  occasioned  by  the  death 
of  his  brothers,  brought  on  a  disease  that  never  was 
removed. 

On  the  following  day  the  funeral  rites  of  the  mur- 
dered ones  were  attended  to,  in  the  midst  of  terror 
and  alarm,  for  the  mob  had  made  their  arrange- 
ments to  burn  the  city  that  night,  but,  by  the  dili- 
gence of  the  brethren,  they  were  kept  at  bay  until 
they  became  discouraged,  and  returned  to  their 
homes. 

In  a  short  time  Samuel,  who  continued  unwell, 
was  confined  to  his  bed,  and,  lingering  till  the  30th 
of  July,  his  spirit  forsook  its  earthly  tabernacle,  and 


356  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET, 

went  to  join  his  brothers,  and  the  ancient  martyrs, 
in  the  paradise  of  God. 

At  this  time,  William  was  absent  on  a  mission  to 
the  Eastern  States.  And  he  had  taken  his  family 
with  him,  in  consequence  of  his  wife  being  afflicted 
with  the  dropsy,  hoping  that  the  journey  might  be 
a  benefit  to  her.  Thus  was  I  left  desolate  in  my 
distress.  I  had  reared  six  sons  to  manhood,  and  of 
them  all,  one  only  remained,  and  he  was  too  far 
distant  to  speak  one  consoling  word  to  me  in  this 
trying  hour.  It  would  have  been  some  satisfaction 
to  me,  if  I  had  expected  his  immediate  return,  but 
his  wife  was  lying  at  the  point  of  death,  which  com- 
pelled him  to  remain  where  he  was.  His  case  was, 
if  it  were  possible,  worse  than  mine,  for  he  had  to 
bear  all  his  grief  alone  in  a  land  of  strangers,  con- 
fined to  the  side  of  his  dying  wife,  and  absent  from 
those  who  felt  the  deepest  interest  in  his  welfare; 
whilst  I  was  surrounded  with  friends,  being  in  the 
midst  of  the  church;  my  daughters,  too,  were  with 
me,  and  from  their  society  I  derived  great  comfort. 

The  church  at  this  time  was  in  a  state  of  gloomy 
suspense.  Not  knowing  who  was  to  take  the  place 
of  Joseph,  the  people  were  greatly  wrought  upon 
with  anxiety,  lest  an  impostor  should  arise  and 
deceive  many.  Suddenly,  Sidney  Rigdon  made  his 
appearance  from  Pittsburg,  and  rather  insinuated 
that  the  church  ought  to  make  choice  of  him,  not 
as  president,  but  as  guardian;  for  "Joseph,"  said  he, 
"is  still  president,  and  the  church  must  be  built  up 
unto  him."  But  before  he  could  carry  his  measures 
into  effect,  the  Twelve,  who  had  also  been  absent, 


AND  HIS  PROGENITORS 


357 


arrived,  and  assuming  their  proper  places,  all  was 
set  to  rights.' 

William,  however,  did  not  return  till  the  spring  of 
1845,  when,  with  great  difficulty,  he  got  his  wife  to 
Nauvoo.  She  survived  but  a  short  time  after  her 
arrival,  for  in  about  two  weeks,  to  complete  the 
sum  of  William's  afflictions,  he  followed  her  to  the 
grave.  Her  disease  was  brought  on  by  her  expo- 
sures in  Missouri,  so  that  she  was  what  might  be 
termed  an  indirect  martyr  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
which  makes  the  sum  of  martyrs  in  our  family  no 
less  than  six  in  number. 

Shortly  after  William's  return  from  the  East,  he 
was  ordained  patriarch  of  the  church,  in  the  place 
of  Hyrum,  who  held  the  keys  of  that  priesthood 
previous  to  his  death. 

Here  ends  the  history  of  my  life,  as  well  as  that 
of  my  family,  as  far  as  I  intend  carrying  it  for  the 
present.  And  I  shall  leave  the  world  to  judge,  as 
seemeth  them  good,  concerning  what  I  have  written. 
But  this  much  I  will  say,  that  the  testimony  which  I 
have  given  is  true,  and  will  stand  for  ever;  and  the 
same  will  be  my  testimony  in  the  day  of  God 
Almighty,  when  I  shall  meet  them,  concerning  whom 

'At  the  time  this  was  written  Brigham  Young  and  the 
members  of  his  quorum  who  sustained  him  had  not  assumed 
the  position  of  presidency  in  the  sense  that  they  subsequently 
did.  The  resolution  passed  on  August  8,  1844,  as  published 
in  Times  and  Seasons  volume  5,  page  638,  read  as  follows: 
"All  in  favor  of  supporting  the  Twelve  dn  their  calling, 
(every  quorum,  man  and  woman,)  signify  it  by  the  uplifted 
hand." 

Of  course  Mother  Smith  would  not  object  to  this  and  might 
be  expected  to  say  it  was  right;  but  it  is  well  known  that 
she  refused  to  follow  them  afterwards.  H.  C.  S. 


358  JOSEPH  SMITH  THE  PROPHET 

I  have  testified,  before  angels,  and  the  spirits  of  thie 
just  made  perfect,  before  archangels  and  seraphim, 
cherubim  and  God;  where  the  brief  authority  of 
the  unjust  man  will  shrink  to  nothingness  before 
him  who  is  the  Lord  of  lords  and  God  of  gods ;  and 
where  the  righteousness  of  the  just  shall  exalt  them 
m  the  scale,  wherein  God  weigheth  the  hearts  of 
men.  And  now  having,  in  common  with  the  Saints, 
appealed  in  vain  for  justice,  to  Lilburn  W.  Boggs, 
Thomas  Carlin,  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  Thomas 
Ford,  I  bid  them  a  last  farewell,  until  I  shall  appear 
with  them  before  Him  who  is  the  judge  of  both  the 
quick  and  dead;  to  whom  I  solemnly  appeal  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ.  Amen. 


APPENDIX 


359 


APPENDIX. 

A  JOURNAL  KEPT  BY  DON  C.  SMITH  WHILE  ON  A  MIS- 
SION WITH  GEORGE  A.  SMITH,  HIS  COUSIN. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  High  Council  held  in  Adam- 
Ondi-Ahman,  I  was  appointed,  in  company  with  my 
cousin,  George  A.  Smith,  Lorenzo  D.  Barnes,  and 
Harrison  Sagers,  to  take  a  mission  to  the  East  and 
South,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  means  to  buy  out 
the  mobbers  in  Daviess  County,  Missouri;  also  to 
effect  an  exchange  of  farms  between  the  brethren  in 
the  East,  and  the  mobbers  in  our  immediate  neigh- 
borhood. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  1838,  we  took  leave 
of  our  friends,  and  started  on  our  mission,  in  com- 
pany with  Brother  Earl,  who  proposed  taking  us  in 
his  wagon  as  far  as  Richmond,  a  distance  of  seventy 
miles.  We  stopped  at  Far  West  to  see  Brother 
Joseph.  He  sanctioned  our  mission,  and  bade  us 
God-speed.  On  our  way  to  Richmond,  we  stayed 
over  night  with  Captain  Alpheus  Cutler,  formerly  of 
the  United  States  Army.  He  and  his  family  treated 
us  with  much  kindness.  We  also  called  on  John 
Goodson,  who  a  few  days  previous  had  shared  freely 
in  the  hospitality  of  my  uncle's  house,  yet  he  had  not 
the  politeness  to  ask  either  Cousin  George  or  myself 
to  take  breakfast  with  him. 

When  we  got  to  the  landing,  we  found  the  river 
very  low,  and  but  one  boat  up,  which  was  the  Kansas. 


360 


APPENDIX 


Whilst  waiting  for  this  boat,  we  had  an  interview 
with  David  Whitmer.  He  had  not  confidence  to  look 
us  in  the  face,  for  he  had  become  our  enemy;  yet, 
when  we  parted,  he  shook  hands  with  us  quite  cor- 
dially, and  wished  us  success. 

On  the  30th  'of  September,  we  went  on  board  the 
Kansas;  this  was  a  very  slow  conveyance,  for  one 
of  the  wheels  was  broken;  besides  the  river  being 
very  low,  and  full  of  snags  and  sand-bars,  we  got 
along  but  slowly  on  our  journey.  Here  we  traveled 
in  company  with  General  Wilson,  and  Samuel  Lucas, 
besides  many  others  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  expulsion  of  the  Saints  from  Jackson  County, 
in  1833.  General  Atchison  was  also  on  board.  On 
arriving  at  De  Witt,  we  found  about  seventy  of  the 
brethren  with  their  families,  surrounded  by  a  mob 
of  two  hundred  men.  When  the  boat  landed,  the 
women  and  children  were  much  frightened,  suppos- 
ing that  we  also  were  a  mob.  We  would  have 
stopped,  and  assisted  them  what  we  could,  but  we 
were  unarmed,  and,  upon  consulting  together,  it 
was  thought  advisable  for  us  to  fulfill  our  mission; 
so  we  returned  to  the  boat,  and  proceeded  on  our 
journey.  From  this  onward,  the  "Mormons"  were 
the  only  subject  of  conversation,  and  nothing  was 
heard  but  the  most  bitter  imprecations  against  them. 
General  Wilson  related  many  of  his  deeds  of  noble 
daring  in  the  Jackson  mob,  one  of  which  was  the 
following:  "I  went,  in  company  with  forty  others, 
to  the  house  of  one  Hiram  Page,  who  was  a  Mormon, 
in  Jackson  County.  We  got  logs  and  broke  in  every 
door  and  window  at  the  same  instant ;  and,  pointing 


APPENDIX 


361 


our  rifles  at  the  family,  we  told  them  we  would  be 
God  d — d  if  we  didn't  shoot  every  one  of  them,  if 
Page  did  not  come  out.  At  that,  a  tall  woman 
made  her  appearance,  with  a  child  in  her  arms.  I 
told  the  boys,  she  was  too  d — d  tall.  In  a  moment 
the  boys  stripped  her,  and  found  it  was  Page.  I 
told  them  to  give  him  a  d — d  good  one.  We  gave 
him  sixty  or  seventy  lashes  with  hickory  withes 
which  we  had  prepared.  Then,  after  pulling  the 
roof  off  this  house,  we  went  to  the  next  d — d  'Mor- 
mon's' house,  and  whipped  him  in  like  manner.  We 
continued  until  we  whipped  ten  or  fifteen  of  the 
God  d — d  'Mormons',  and  demolished  their  houses 
that  night.  If  the  Carroll  boys  would  do  that  way, 
they  might  conquer;  but  it  is  no  use  to  think  of 
driving  them  without  about  four  to  one.  I  wish  I 
could  stay,  I  would  help  drive  the  d — d  'Mormons'  to 
hell,  old  Joe,  and  all  the  rest." 

At  this  I  looked  the  general  sternly  in  the  face, 
and  told  him  that  he  was  neither  a  republican  nor  a 
gentleman,  but  a  savage,  without  a  single  principle 
of  honor.  "If,"  said  I,  "the  'Mormons'  have  broken 
the  law,  let  it  be  strictly  executed  against  them ;  but 
such  anti-republican,  and  unconstitutional  acts  as 
these  related  by  you,  are  below  the  brutes."  We 
were  upon  the  hurricane  deck,  and  a  large  company 
present  was  listening  to  the  conversation.  When  I 
ceased  speaking,  the  general  placed  his  hand  upon 
his  pistol,  but  I  felt  safe,  for  Cousin  George  stood 
by  his  side,  watching  every  move  the  general  made, 
and  would  have  knocked  him  into  the  river  instantly, 
had  he  attempted  to  draw  a  deadly  weapon.  But 


362  APPENDIX 

General  Atchison  saved  him  the  trouble,  by  saying, 
"I'll  be  God  d— n,  if  Smith  ain't  right."  At  this, 
Wilson  left  the  company,  rather  crestfallen.  In  the 
course  of  the  conversation  Wilson  said  that  the  best 
plan  was  to  rush  into  the  "Mormon"  settlement,  mur- 
der the  men,  make  slaves  of  the  children,  take  pos- 
session of  the  property,  and  use  the  women  as  they 
pleased. 

There  was  a  gentleman  present  from  Baltimore, 
Maryland ;  he  said  he  never  was  among  such  a  pack 
of  d — d  savages  before ;  that  he  had  passed  through 
Far  West,  and  saw  nothing  among  the  "Mormons" 
but  good  order.  Then,  drawing  his  pistols,  he  dis- 
charged them;  and  re-loading,  he  said,  "If  God 
spares  my  life  till  I  get  out  of  Upper  Missouri,  I 
will  never  be  found  associating  with  such  devils 
again." 

Shortly  after  this  we  were  invited  to  preach  on 
board.  Elder  Barnes  gave  them  a  good  lecture,  and 
I  bore  testimony.  The  rest  of  the  way  we  were 
treated  more  civilly,  but,  being  deck-passengers,  and 
having  very  little  money,  we  suffered  much  for  food. 
On  one  occasion  we  paid  twelve  and  a  half  cents  for 
one  dozen  ears  of  [Indian]  corn;  and  after  grating 
it,  we  paid  a  woman  twelve  and  a  half  cents  more 
for  baking  it  into  bread,  although  it  was  badly  done, 
being  neither  sifted,  nor  the  whole  kernels  taken  out ; 
but  we  were  so  hungry  that  we  were  glad  to  get  it. 

We  continued  our  journey  together  through  every 
species  of  hardships  and  fatigue,  until  the  11th  of 
October,  when  Elder  Barnes  and  H.  Sagers  left  us, 
after  our  giving  them  all  the  money  we  had;  they 


APPENDIX  363 
« 

starting  for  Cincinnati,  and  we,  to  visit  the  churches 
in  West  Tennessee.  Soon  after  this,  Julian  Moses, 
who  had  fallen  in  company  with  us  on  the  way,  gave 
us  a  five-franc  piece,  and  bade  us  farewell.  This 
left  Cousin  George  and  myself  alone,  and  in  a  strange 
land;  and  we  soon  found  that  the  mob  spirit  was 
here,  as  well  as  in  Missouri,  for  it  was  not  long 
before  we  were  mobbed  by  near  twenty  men,  who 
surrounded  the  house  in  the  night,  and  terrified  the 
family  very  much;  however,  we  succeeded  in  driv- 
ing them  away. 

After  this  we  continued  our  journey  until  we 
arrived  at  Brother  Utley's,  in  Benton  County,  a 
neighborhood  where  Brothers  Patten  and  Woodruff 
were  mobbed  some  years  ago.  We  soon  made  our 
business  known  to  all  the  Saints,  who  said  they 
would  use  every  effort  to  be  on  hand  with  their 
money  and  means — some  in  the  fall,  others  in  the 
spring.  We  received  from  Brother  West  twenty- 
eight  dollars  to  bear  our  expenses;  and  also  from 
others,  acts  of  kindness  which  will  never  be  forgot- 
ten. 

About  this  time  our  minds  were  seized  with  an 
awful  foreboding — horror  seemed  to  have  laid  his 
grasp  upon  us — we  lay  awake  night  after  night,  for 
we  could  not  sleep.  Our  forebodings  increased,  and 
we  felt  sure  that  all  was  not  right;  yet  we  continued 
preaching,  until  the  Lord  showed  us  that  the  Saints 
would  be  driven  from  Missouri.  We  then  started 
home,  and,  on  arriving  at  Wyatt's  Mills,  which  was 
on  our  return,  we  were  told,  if  we  preached  there  it 
should  cost  us  our  lives.    We  gave  out  an  appoint- 


364  APPENDIX 

ment  at  the  house  of  Sister  Foster,  a  wealthy  widow. 
She  advised  us  to  give  it  up;  but,  as  she  had  no 
fears  for  herself,  her  property,  or  family,  we  con- 
cluded to  fulfill  our  appointment.  The  hour  of  meet- 
ing came,  and  many  attended.  Cousin  George 
preached  about  an  hour;  during  which  time  a  man 
named  Fitch  came  in  at  the  head  of  twelve  other 
mobbers,  who  had  large  hickory  clubs,  and  they  sat 
down  with  their  hats  on.  When  Cousin  George  took 
his  seat,  I  arose  and  addressed  them  for  an  hour 
and  a  half,  during  which  time  I  told  them  that  I 
was  a  patriot — ^that  I  was  free — that  I  loved  my 
country — that  I  loved  liberty — ^that  I  despised  both 
mobs  and  m.obbers — that  no  gentleman,  or  Chris- 
tian at  heart,  would  ever  be  guilty  of  such  things, 
or  countenance  them.  At  last  the  mob  pulled  off 
their  hats,  laid  down  their  clubs,  and  listened  with 
almost  breathless  attention. 

After  meeting,  Mr.  Fitch  came  to  us  and  said  that 
he  was  ashamed  of  his  conduct,  and  would  never  do 
the  like  again ;  that  he  had  been  misinformed  about 
us  by  some  religious  bigots. 

We  continued  our  journey  until  we  reached  the 
town  of  Columbus,  Hickman  County,  Kentucky. 
Here  we  put  up  with  Captain  Robinson,  formerly  an 
officer  in  the  army,  who  treated  us  very  kindly, 
assuring  us  that  we  were  welcome  to  stay  at  his 
house  until  a  boat  should  come,  if  it  were  three 
months.  While  here,  a  company  of  thirteen  hun- 
dred Cherokee  Indians  encamped  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  to  wait  for  ferry  privileges.  They  felt  deeply 
wounded  at  leaving  their  native  country  for  the 


APPENDIX  . 


365 


West.  They  said  they  were  Veaving  a  fine  country, 
rich  in  minerals,  but  the  whites  knew  very  little 
of  its  value.  This  excited  our  sympathies  very 
much;  little  did  I  think  that  my  own  wife  and  help- 
less babes  were  objects  of  greater  sympathy  than 
these. 

At  length  a  boat  came  along,  and  we  went  on 
board.  We  had  to  pay  all  our  money  (five  dollars) 
for  fare,  and  eat  and  lie  among  negroes,  as  we  took 
a  deck  passage.  About  ninety  miles  from  St.  Louis 
our  boat  got  aground,  where  it  lay  for  three  days. 
During  this  time  we  had  nothing  to  eat  but  a  little 
parched  corn.  They  finally  gave  up  the  boat  and 
left  her.  We  went  to  the  clerk  and  got  two  dollars 
of  our  money  back,  after  which  we  went  on  board 
of  a  little  boat  that  landed  us  in  St.  Louis  the  next 
morning.  Here  we  found  Elder  Orson  Pratt;  he 
told  us  that  Joseph  was  a  prisoner  with  many  others, 
and  that  David  Patten  was  killed,  giving  us  a  long 
and  sorrowful  account  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Saints, 
which  filled  our  hearts  with  sorrow. 

The  next  morning,  we  started  again  on  our  jour- 
ney. When  we  arrived  at  Huntsville,  we  stopped  at 
the  house  of  George  Lyman  to  rest,  he  being  uncle 
to  Cousin  George,  whose  feet  had  now  become  very 
sore  with  traveling.  Here  we  heard  dreadful  tales 
concerning  our  friends  in  Daviess  County,  that  they 
were  all  murdered,  and  that  my  brothers,  Joseph  and 
Hyrum,  were  shot  with  a  hundred  balls. 

We  had  not  been  long  in  Huntsville  till  the  mob 
made  a  rally  to  use  us  up  with  the  rest  of  the  Smiths, 
and,  at  the  earnest  request  of  our  friends,  we  thought 


366 


APPENDIX 


best  to  push  on.  The  wind  was  in  our  faces,  the 
ground  was  slippery,  it  was  night,  and  very  dark, 
nevertheless  we  proceeded  on  our  journey.  Travel- 
ing twenty-two  miles,  we  came  to  the  Chariton  River, 
which  we  found  frozen  over,  but  the  ice  too  weak 
to  bear  us,  and  the  boat  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river.  We  went  to  the  next  ferry.  Finding  that 
there  was  no  boat  there,  and  that  in  the  next  neigh- 
borhood a  man's  brains  were  beat  out  for  being  a 
"Mormon,"  we  returned  to  the  first  ferry,  and  tried 
by  hallooing  to  raise  the  ferryman  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  but  were  not  able  to  awake  him. 
We  were  almost  benumbed  with  the  cold,  and  to 
warm  ourselves  we  commenced  scuffling  and  jump- 
ing; we  then  beat  our  feet  upon  the  logs  and  stumps, 
in  order  to  start  a  circulation  of  blood;  but  at  last 
Cousin  George  became  so  cold  and  sleepy  that  he 
said  he  could  not  stand  it  any  longer,  and  lay  down. 
I  told  him  he  was  freezing  to  death ;  I  rolled  him  on 
the  ground,  pounded  and  thumped  him;  I  then  cut 
a  stick  and  said  I  would  thrash  him.  At  this  he 
got  up  and  undertook  to  thrash  me.  This  stirred 
his  blood  a  little,  but  he  soon  lay  down  again ;  how- 
ever, the  ferryman  in  a  short  time  came  over,  and 
set  us  on  our  own  side  of  the  river.  We  then  trav- 
eled on  until  about  breakfast-time,  when  we  stopped 
at  the  house  of  a  man,  who,  we  afterwards  learned, 
was  Senator  Ashby,  that  commanded  the  mob  at 
Haun's  Mill.  That  night  we  stayed  at  one  of  the 
bitterest  of  mobocrats,  by  the  name  of  Fox,  and 
started  the  next  morning  without  breakfast.  Our 
route  lay  through  a  wild  prairie,  where  there  was 


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367 


but  little  track,  and  only  one  house  in  forty  miles. 
The  northwest  wind  blew  fiercely  in  our  faces,  and 
the  ground  was  so  slippery  that  we  could  scarcely 
keep  our  feet,  and  when  the  night  came  on,  to  add 
to  our  perplexity,  we  lost  our  way.  Soon  after  which 
I  became  so  cold  that  it  was  with  great  difficulty  I 
could  keep  from  freezing.  We  also  became  ex- 
tremely thirsty;  however,  we  found  a  remedy  for 
this  by  cutting  through  ice  three  inches  thick.  While 
we  were  drinking  we  heard  a  cow-bell;  this  caused 
our  hearts  to  leap  for  joy,  and  we  arose  and  steered 
our  course  toward  the  sound.  We  soon  entered  a 
grove,  which  sheltered  us  from  the  wind,  and  we 
felt  more  comfortable.  In  a  short  time  we  came 
to  a  house,  where  George  was  well  acquainted,  where 
we  were  made  welcome  and  kindly  entertained.  We 
laid  down  to  rest  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
after  having  traveled  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  in 
two  days  and  two  nights.  After  breakfast  I  set  out 
for  Far  West,  leaving  George  sick  with  our  hospita- 
ble friend.  When  I  arrived  I  was  fortunate  enough 
to  find  my  family  alive,  and  in  tolerable  health, 
which  was  more  than  I  could  have  expected,  con- 
sidering the  scenes  of  persecution  through  which 
they  had  passed. 

LETTERS  OF  DON  C.  SMITH  TO  HIS  WIFE,  AGNES. 

Coshocton,  New  York,  June  25,  1836. 
Dear  Companion:    I  received  your  letter  bearing 
date  June  15,  which  I  perused  with  eagerness,  being 
the  first  I  had  received  from  you  during  my  absence. 
I  was  rejoiced  to  hear  that  you  were  as  well  as  you 


368 


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expressed,  but  grieved  that  your  rest  should  be  dis- 
turbed by  the  nervous  affesLi'on  of  which  you  speak. 
You  say  that  you  are  willing  to  submit  to  the  will 
of  the  Lord  in  all  things;  this  also  is  a  source  of 
great  consolation  to  me;  for,  if  these  be  your  feel- 
ings, even  when  deprived  of  my  society,  in  order  to 
the  prosperity  of  the  kingdom  of  God  (as  nothing 
else  would  tear  me  from  you),  I  feel  that  the  Lord 
will  bless,  keep,  preserve,  and  uphold  you;  so  let 
your  faith  fail  not,  and  your  prayers  cease  not,  and 
you  shall  be  healed  of  your  nervous  complaint,  and 
all  other  afflictions.  For  God  is  willing,  and  abun- 
dantly able,  to  raise  you  up  and  give  you  all  the 
righteous  desires  of  your  heart,  for  he  has  said, 
'"Ask  and  ye  shall  receive,"  and  he  has  never  lied, 
and  I  can  truly  say  that  he  has  been  my  help  in 
every  time  of  need. 

When  I  left  home  I  set  my  face,  like  a  flint, 
towards  Boston,  until  I  found  that  it  was  my  duty 
to  return  home.  On  arriving  at  Seneca  Falls,  I 
laid  the  matter  before  Samuel  and  Wilbur,  and  we 
united  our  hearts  in  prayer  before  the  Lord,  who 
signified,  by  the  voice  of  his  Spirit,  to  Samuel,  that 
he  should  continue  his  journey,  but  that  we  should 
return,  after  a  short  time,  to  our  families;  so  tell 
Mary  that  we  have  not  forsaken  him;  no,  nor  ever 
will,  for  he  is  as  faithful  as  the  sun — the  Lord  will 
not  forsake  him,  and  angels  will  bear  him  up,  and 
bring  him  off  triumphant  and  victorious.  I  heard 
of  the  death  of  grandmother,  while  at  Aven.  I  could 
not  help  weeping  for  her,  although  she  has  gone  to 
rest.    When  I  left  Kirtland,  I  called  at  Uncle  John's 


APPENDIX 


369 


— ^grandmother  was  asleep — I  laid  my  hand  on  her 
head,  and  ask  the  Lord  to  spare  her,  that  I  might 
see  her  again  in  the  flesh.  But  when  I  left,  I  felt 
as  though  she  would  be  taken  before  I  returned, 
which  caused  me  to  feel  sorrowful;  but  I  do  not 
desire  to  call  her  back  to  this  world  of  trouble.  I 
must  close  by  saying,  that  I  expect  to  labor  in  the 
vineyard  until  I  start  for  home.  And,  if  the  Lord 
will,  I  shall  see  you  as  soon  as  the  last  of  July,  then 
I  shall  finish  this  letter. 

Yours,  till  death, 

Don  C.  Smith. 

Agnes  M.  Smith. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1839,  Don  Carlos  came  from 
McDonough-  County  to  Commerce,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  preparations  to  establish  a  printing-press. 
As  the  press  and  type  had  been  buried  during  the 
Missouri  troubles,  and  were  considerably  injured  by 
the  dampness  which  they  had  gathered,  it  was  nec- 
essary to  get  them  into  use  as  soon  as  possible ;  and 
in  order  to  do  this,  Carlos  was  under  the  necessity 
of  cleaning  out  a  cellar,  through  which  a  spring  was 
constantly  flowing,  for  there  was  no  other  place  at 
liberty  where  he  could  put  up  the  press.  The  damp- 
ness of  the  place,  together  with  his  labor,  caused 
him  to  take  a  severe  cold,  with  which  he  was  sick 
some  time ;  nevertheless,  he  continued  his  labor,  until 
he  got  the  press  into  operation,  and  issued  one  num- 
ber of  the  paper.  He  then  went  to  McDonough,  and 
visited  his  family;  after  which  he  returned  to  Com- 
merce, but  found  the  distress  so  great  that  no  busi- 
ness could  be  done.    Upon  his  arrival  in  Commerce, 


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he  wrote  to  his  wife  the  following  letter,  which 
shows  the  situation  of  the  church  at  that  time,  as 
well  as  his  affectionate  disposition,  which  was 
breathed  in  every  word  he  spoke  to  his  family,  and 
stamped  upon  every  line  he  wrote  to  them  when 
absent. 

Commerce,  July  25,  1839. 
Beloved:  I  am  in  tolerable  health,  and  have  just 
risen  from  imploring  the  Throne  of  Grace,  in  behalf 
of  you  and  our  children,  that  God  would  preserve 
you  all  in  health,  and  give  you  every  needed  bless- 
ing, and  protect  you  by  day  and  by  night.  When 
1  arrived  here,  nothing  had  been  done  in  the  office, 
as  Brother  Robinson  had  been  sick  every  day  since 
I  left.  And  I  have  done  but  little  labor  since  I 
returned,  except  struggling  against  the  destroyer, 
and  attending  upon  the  sick — there  are  not  well  ones 
enough  to  take  care  of  the  sick.  There  has  been  but 
one  death,  however,  since  my  return.  McCleary, 
Sophronia,  and  Clarinda,  are  very  sick.  Sister  E. 
Robinson  has  been  nigh  unto  death.  Last  Tuesday, 
I,  in  company  with  George  A.  Smith,  administered 
to  sixteen  souls ;  some  notable  miracles  were  wrought 
under  our  hands.  I  never  had  so  great  power  over 
disease,  as  I  have  had  this  week;  for  this  let  God 
be  glorified.  There  are  now  between  fifty  and  one 
hundred  sick,  but  they  are  generally  on  the  gain;  I 
do  not  know  of  more  than  two  or  three  who  are 
considered  dangerous.  I  send  you  some  money  that 
you  may  not  be  destitute,  in  case  you  should  be  sick, 
and  need  anything  which  you  have  not  in  the  house. 
Agnes,  the  Lord  being  my  helper,  you  shall  not  want. 


APPENDIX 


371 


Elijah's  God  will  bless  you,  and  I  will  bless  you,  for 
you  are  entwined  around  my  heart,  with  ties  that 
are  stronger  than  death,  and  time  can  not  sever 
them.  Deprived  of  your  society,  and  that  of  my 
prattling  babes,  life  would  be  irksome.  0  that  wem 
may  all  live,  and  enjoy  health  and  prosperity,  until 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man;  that  we  may  be  a 
comfort  to  each  other,  and  instill  into  the  tender  and 
noble  minds  of  our  children,  principles  of  truth  and 
virtue,  which  shall  abide  with  them  for  ever,  is  my 
constant  prayer.  From  your  husband,  who  will 
ever  remain  devoted  and  affectionate,  both  in  time 
and  in  eternity,  Don  C.  Smith. 

While  Don  Carlos  was  at  work  in  the  before-men- 
tioned cellar,  he  took  a  severe  pain  in  his  side,  which 
was  never  altogether  removed.  About  a  fortnight 
prior  to  his  death,  his  family  were  very  sick;  and 
in  taking  care  of  them,  he  caught  a  violent  cold — 
a  fever  set  in,  and  the  pain  in  his  side  increased,  and 
with  all  our  exertions,  we  were  unable  to  arrest  the 
disease,  which  I  have  no  doubt  was  consumption, 
brought  on  by  working  in  a  damp  room,  in  which  he 
printed  his  paper. 


DATE  DUE 

-JmLI 

CAYLORO 

PItlNTCO  IN  U  S  A. 

